Career of Biochemistry students at stake due to official apathy

At the outset, we would like to chronicle the journey of Biochemistry over here. Biochemistry was introduced as an offshoot of the Department of Chemistry, University of Kashmir in 1980. In the infancy years of this course, the students who used to be toppers in the B.Sc were offered Biochemistry for post-graduation, which led to inception of a prestigious Department of Biochemistry at the University of Kashmir.

Until 2000, this practice of drawing toppers and academically brilliant students from the colleges of the vale continued. As the number of aspirants who wanted to opt for Biochemistry swelled over the years, a transparent selection process through a written entrance examination was introduced. Slowly, Biochemistry became a charismatic subject to pursue for basic science students among all the science subjects.

At the college level, Biochemistry Department took off in the year 2000, initially in S.P. College, Srinagar and subsequently in Women’s College and Islamia College, Srinagar to foster a cohort among science students who could take up this challenging subject for PG and doctoral courses.

Due to an overwhelming number of students longing for this subject and a tough entrance examination in place, the selection process has been like churning out cream from the science students.

This subject has got such an immense traction in the life science community and drawing students for such an ambitious subject is like separating the wheat from the chaff. Many students who get selected in multiple subjects in the PG entrance examination usually give priority to Biochemistry over conventional subjects such as Chemistry, Zoology and Botany.

The glory associated with this subject is by virtue of the scientific acumen of Biochemistry students proving their mettle all over the world. Today, Biochemistry community of the state stands out as a monolith in terms of the distinctiveness it has created and maintained over the years.

Seventy percent of the students in each batch of biochemistry of KU qualify the NET-JRF, GATE, ICMR-JRF and other prestigious fellowship exams as compared to conventional science subjects, making the subject as a potential source of quality postgraduates.

Most of the cutting edge research by the scientific community of Kashmir is mainly accounted for by the researchers from Biochemistry background. It might be startling to many, but is a fact that if you happen to visit abroad, majority of valley’s scientific diaspora turn out to be biochemists.

Apart from that, a large number of students from the state pursue Biochemistry from other prestigious universities in the mainland India like AMU, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Hamdard, BHU, Delhi University and Hyderabad University.

In 2005, an idea was conceived to start a separate course as a sibling department of Biochemistry to create a workforce primarily meant for diagnostic healthcare of the state. Thus came into existence a distinct Clinical Biochemistry course to be offered at University of Kashmir.

We don’t know whose brain child and ill-conceived idea this was when all over the country no such course exists yet in any of the University? You have either Biochemistry in the academics or Medical Biochemistry within the healthcare institutions. Further, there is no UGC recognition to Clinical Biochemistry course per se.

Anyway, the bone of contention here is the recent recruitment drive by JKPSC in the Higher Education Department including posts for ‘Biochemistry’ and ‘Clinical Biochemistry’. The entire Biochemistry fraternity is miffed at the number of vacancies created separately for aspirants from Clinical Biochemistry.

The idea of creating just 10 posts for parent subject, Biochemistry while almost double the number (n=20) for just a decade old offshoot subject (Clinical Biochemistry) eludes a logical mind. The most mocking and ironical thing is that colleges for which these posts have been advertised, have no Clinical Biochemistry departments.

Firstly, splitting the vacancies for Biochemistry and Clinical Biochemistry is bereft of any logic. The vacancies should be clubbed and let aspirants from both the departments sit in a common competition. Even if clubbing of posts is untenable at this juncture and JKPSC intends to go ahead with this fallacious and irrational categorization, then cross eligibility between the two categories should be permitted.

However, in this regard, the matter was previously brought into cognizance of Kashmir University authorities in the form of representation to issue equivalence certificate to all the pass outs so that both the courses should be treated at par by the JKPSC. But sadly, JKPSC declined to entertain these equivalence certificates from the aspirants.

One wonders if Clinical Biochemistry students have been allowed all these years to apply against the posts of Biochemistry on contractual posts in the colleges, why then here a different yardstick is used in our case? We deem this tantamount to trampling upon rights and slaying the throats of hundreds of Biochemistry students who have burnt the midnight oil for years altogether.

There are more than hundred postdoctoral fellows in US, UK and Europe from Biochemistry background eager to come back who have the gumption to herald an era of scientific advancement of our state. But due to the lack of opportunities here, their career too is in jeopardy and this way, lack of avenues contributes to the brain drain of our state.

Our grievance is exacerbated by the step-motherly attitude towards this glorious subject. While hundreds of vacancies come up for other subjects, for Biochemistry, the number of posts advertised has usually been limited to figures of 1, 2 and 3. These are not tantrums but hard facts from an aggrieved lot which need to be addressed by the Department of Higher Education and JKPSC.

In contrast to Biochemistry, other allied science subjects for which JKPSC recruits regularly, 70% of the students in these subjects are able to secure their career while the percentage of recruitment for Biochemistry is usually <0.01%. Even in the recent notification for the 10+2 lecturers by JKPSC, just 2 posts were advertised against which a vastly outstripping number of applications (n=324) were received which equals to 0.6% recruitment rate for this subject.

The absorption of Biochemistry students is even impeded in medical colleges of the state on the basis of MCI guidelines for Biochemistry candidates with basic science background and the matter is presently subjudice.

If there is someone who literally understands justice, we seek their intervention in this to help establish a more transparent education system devoid of nepotism and corruption. It will help form an influential and integral education system in the state to impart unhindered quality education on which social stability and sustainable development rely.

(The article has been submitted by Representatives of J&K Association of Biochemistry Students. They can be reached at jkbiochmsa@gmail.com)

Disclaimer: An opinion piece is an article that reflects the author’s opinion about the subject. The Kashmir Pulse does not endorse the views and opinions expressed in these article as these do not necessarily reflect our official policy or position on the issues discussed.