Frustrated candidates protest cancellation of job exam
Potential section officers protest in front of FIA Headquarters.
ISLAMABAD:
A large number of people staged a sit-in in front of the FIA headquarter on Sunday after their job exams were cancelled, allegedly without prior notice. The candidates had come from different parts of the country to appear in a written test for the eight Section Officers posts vacant in the National Assembly Secretariat.
The candidates said they were not informed of the cancellation of the test, through letters or media, until they reached the Government Commerce College H-8, the specified examination centre. They said the authorities did not even give a reason as to why the test had been cancelled at the eleventh hour.
Frustrated over the authorities’ decision, the candidates opted to protest.
They gathered in front of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) headquarter and blocked the main road for hours, disrupting traffic flow.
They accused government high-ups for deliberately cancelling the test to recruit “their own people”. They demanded the government to provide them compensation and announce a fresh test date.
Meanwhile, no senior officials of the NA Secretariat were available to comment on the matter.
“This is a mockery of our poverty and compulsion,” said Muhammad Illyas, a protesting candidate. Coming from Upper Dir, he had to travel throughout the night to reach Islamabad on time for his exam, only to realise that the test had been cancelled. “We are all jobless and cannot afford to come to Islamabad from far flung areas again and again,” he added.
Also present on the scene, Assistant Commissioner of Industrial Area, Imran Ali, claimed the government had displayed the exam’s cancellation notice on the National Assembly’s website and also published it in some newspapers.
He said that the test was cancelled due to a petition filed by some NA staff against outside appointments for the posts, while their own promotions have been blocked for years.
A female candidate, who had travelled all the way from Multan with her father, strongly protested against the untimely cancellation of the test. She claimed to have incurred at least Rs10,000 in travelling and lodging costs and demanded the government to compensate all candidates.
“Our rulers do not know how difficult it is to seek jobs from pillar to post. Our sufferings are like a joke for them,” she said with anger.
The National Assembly Secretariat had advertised eight vacant positions of Section Officer in August last year, for which thousands of jobless youth had applied. The NA Secretariat had issued letters to the candidates last month, requiring them to appear in a written test scheduled on March 13.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 14th, 2011.
A large number of people staged a sit-in in front of the FIA headquarter on Sunday after their job exams were cancelled, allegedly without prior notice. The candidates had come from different parts of the country to appear in a written test for the eight Section Officers posts vacant in the National Assembly Secretariat.
The candidates said they were not informed of the cancellation of the test, through letters or media, until they reached the Government Commerce College H-8, the specified examination centre. They said the authorities did not even give a reason as to why the test had been cancelled at the eleventh hour.
Frustrated over the authorities’ decision, the candidates opted to protest.
They gathered in front of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) headquarter and blocked the main road for hours, disrupting traffic flow.
They accused government high-ups for deliberately cancelling the test to recruit “their own people”. They demanded the government to provide them compensation and announce a fresh test date.
Meanwhile, no senior officials of the NA Secretariat were available to comment on the matter.
“This is a mockery of our poverty and compulsion,” said Muhammad Illyas, a protesting candidate. Coming from Upper Dir, he had to travel throughout the night to reach Islamabad on time for his exam, only to realise that the test had been cancelled. “We are all jobless and cannot afford to come to Islamabad from far flung areas again and again,” he added.
Also present on the scene, Assistant Commissioner of Industrial Area, Imran Ali, claimed the government had displayed the exam’s cancellation notice on the National Assembly’s website and also published it in some newspapers.
He said that the test was cancelled due to a petition filed by some NA staff against outside appointments for the posts, while their own promotions have been blocked for years.
A female candidate, who had travelled all the way from Multan with her father, strongly protested against the untimely cancellation of the test. She claimed to have incurred at least Rs10,000 in travelling and lodging costs and demanded the government to compensate all candidates.
“Our rulers do not know how difficult it is to seek jobs from pillar to post. Our sufferings are like a joke for them,” she said with anger.
The National Assembly Secretariat had advertised eight vacant positions of Section Officer in August last year, for which thousands of jobless youth had applied. The NA Secretariat had issued letters to the candidates last month, requiring them to appear in a written test scheduled on March 13.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 14th, 2011.