One general and simple method to call candidates for interviews is to select them on the basis of their test score
PESHAWAR: Last year, the Local Government and Rural Development department (LG&RD) of Khber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) advertised various posts for the administrative, accounts and engineering cadres. Tests for these posts were conducted by the National Testing Service in May 2014 and the results were declared within a few days. Those who did well in the test started waiting for their interviews to be conducted. One general and simple method to call candidates for interviews is to select them on the basis of their test score. This simple technique is followed by the four provincial public service commissions as well as the Federal Public Service Commission of Pakistan.
Read: Making Clear : ‘NTS tests not mandatory for admission’
But to the despair of the candidates, fuddled mathematical formulas, ostensibly put forward by some nepotistic soul in the higher echelons of the LG&RD department, jumped in to tamper with the original merit list of the test. The formula entails awarding minimum credit to those who did well in the test and maximum credit to those who did poorly in it, but have some experience or some back-door support (no experience was required as per the advertisement). Eligible candidates were called for interviews during the month of Ramazan but someone took the department to court on the basis of the flawed merit list calculation and since then there has been complete silence on the matter from official quarters.
I want to ask PTI Chairman Imran Khan whether this is his promised, change, for K-P, where the youth are still deprived of their rights in such a shameful way. I also want to ask Sirajul Haq, since the minister for LG&RD is from his party, whether this is what our religion preaches about following rules and being just?
Name withheld at the request of the writer
Published in The Express Tribune, September 15th, 2015.
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