Hierarchy tiff opens can of worms for SBTE

KARACHI:

The Sindh Board of Technical Education (SBTE) has come under fire after various cases of nepotism and corruption erupted within the department.

Growing differences between SBTE senior officials have stirred up another hornet’s nest, painting the department’s own hierarchy as criminally incompetent and unqualified.

Recent claims against SBTE examination controller Arbab Thahim suggest fraudulent activities, including work-experience deception and misappropriation of pension funds, which he allegedly conducted through misuse of power and seniority.

According to information available with The Express Tribune, Arbab Ali Thahim, a Grade-17 officer, joined the Board of Intermediate Education, Karachi (BISEK), as a watchman in 1984. From there, his career progressed in leaps and bounds, leading him to the ranks of a Grade-11 assistant in 2007 before he ended up in SBTE in 2009, eventually rising to his current position.

In the meantime, aiming for pension benefits, Thahim twice tried to merge his previous BISEK service with his SBTE experience. His attempts were rejected by the board of governors both times, on grounds that services in an independent body cannot be counted in any other autonomous body. As a concession, the board proposed that if Thahim submitted an amount equal to his pension to BISEK and BISEK forwarded it to the SBTE, he may add experience of his previous service.

As per the board’s concession, Thahim’s pension too was supposed to be granted to him at the time of retirement.

However, owing to lack of pension benefits in the department, his application was rejected by BISEK, citing conflict with board rules.

Despite that, this year, he had his BISEK service and experience added to his current job, also depositing a certain amount of money to SBTE as pension from his own pocket.

This transaction is expected to have negative financial impact on the board, while benefitting Thahim in the form of pension payouts at his retirement.

This is the first time the services of one autonomous body have been added to those of another autonomous body to reward one officer.

Departmental tiff

On the other hand, an escalating tiff between the SBTE secretary and chairperson has resulted in the two officers trading allegations about each other’s qualifications and competence.

Forwarding a termination recommendation to the controlling authority, SBTE secretary Qazi Arif Ali accused chairperson Dr Masroor Sheikh of conducting recruitments against department rules.

“Recruitments were made for the posts of assistant, account assistant, data entry operator, senior and junior clerk and electrical and mechanical supervisor, without publishing any ads,” claimed Ali.

Regarding the complaint, it was stated that as per board rules, the chairperson cannot make appointments for more than six months in case of emergency. It takes another six months for the appointments to be approved by the board of governors.

Following complaints, the Department of Boards and Universities sought a reply from Sheikh. In response to the allegations, Sheikh questioned Ali’s academic credentials, while recommending his removal. “The acting board secretary is a negative thinker who has presented the matter contrary to the facts,” he wrote in his letter to the Sindh government in connection with the court case against him.

Both these issues have come to the fore during Sheikh’s tenure. However, since the chairperson has completed his term, it is expected the provincial government will soon issue a notification for the appointment of a new chairperson.

When The Express Tribune contacted Sheikh for comment on the two issues, he confirmed the inclusion of Thahim’s previous service at the intermediate board to have added seniority to his current service. The chairperson also confirmed the deposition of funds by the examination controller, claiming the matter was dealt with as per the provincial law department’s advice.

When asked if the SBTE board of governors had agreed to the arrangement, Sheikh said that after BISEK’s refusal, the board of governors had themselves suggested consulting the law department. “The universities and boards department has said the matter should be taken up with the board of governors. We will present it in the governors’ meeting to be held next month. The department has not yet made a decision in the regard,” Sheikh told The Express Tribune, while addressing the unfair recruitment issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2020.