J&K makes domicile certificate mandatory for admissions to educational institutions, professional exams
The J&K administration on Wednesday scrapped Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs), which defined “State subjects”, and made the domicile status certificate a basic eligibility condition for admission to educational institutions and professional examinations in Jammu and Kashmir.
“It has been decided that the requirement of ‘Permanent Resident Certificate’ wherever prescribed for admission into educational institutions shall be replaced with ‘Domicile Certificate’,” an order issued by the General Administration Department (GAD) said.
The government spokesperson said it has been ordered that any candidate appearing for any entrance test conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination (J&KBOPEE) must possess a domicile certificate.
“General Eligibility for Admission: Any candidate interested in appearing in any entrance test, conducted by the Board, must possess Domicile Certificate issued under the Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules, 2020 and such age and qualification, including of category certificate and experience, as prescribed by the Government for such course from time to time,” the notification stated.
Earlier, the J&K government notified the Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules, 2020 on May 18, 2020 and allowed non-locals under different categories to register for domicile certificates in J&K, which was barred prior to the August 5, 2019 decision to end the region’s special status. These non-locals, according to the government, are allowed to apply for the government jobs in the UT.
The spokesperson said that with the enactment of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 a series of Constitutional changes have been affected.
“In terms of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2019 any reference by whatever form to ‘permanent residents of the State or hereditary State subject’, wherever they occurred in any Act or notification issued or rules, orders made thereunder, stands omitted with necessary grammatical variation,” said the order.
With inputs from The Hindu