Flawed HSSC-1 results: Former Pindi education board chief, four others indicted
Move follows recent ACE investigation charging latter four with criminal liability.
RAWALPINDI:
The Higher Education Department of Punjab has charge-sheeted five former Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) officials in connection with the fake results issued last year.
Former BISE chairman Dr Muhammad Qasim, former controller Amjad Iqbal, system analyst Muhammad Afzal Bhatti, computer programmer Asif Masood and data processing officer Muhammad Sarfraz Ahmed have been charged with inefficiency, negligence and misconduct under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act 2006 (PEEDAA).
According to the recently issued charge sheet, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, Dr Qasim has been charged with negligence and inefficiency that adversely affected the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) Part-1 annual exams for 2011 and led to students creating chaos on the streets of Rawalpindi.
The chairman was also charged with failing to properly monitor the result compilation which led to faulty results for a number of candidates.
The third charge against Dr Qasim was negligence for turning down a request from the BISE chief secrecy officer regarding manual verification of the objective part of the HSSC-I. This forced the higher authorities to order rechecking of objective papers, the charge sheet contained.
Moreover, ex-controller Amjad Iqbal is accused of blunders in preparing the HSSC-I results. He certified in the gazette that the result was accurate and did not proceed for rechecking of results though there was sufficient time to do so, and in the process smeared the reputation of the examination body in the public eye.
Iqbal is also charged with failure to chalk out any plans for the secrecy and computer branches for smooth conduct of their affairs. “This showed his lack of supervision, sheer negligence and inefficiency,” the charge sheet said.
The former controller also failed to collect the award list of objective papers and processed data from the computer programmer during the rechecking process, the charge sheet noted.
Iqbal is also accused of appointing Suleman Khizar as computer programmer without obtaining approval from the BISE chairman and without following formalities as no posts were available at the time of hiring.
The charge sheet accused system analyst Afzal Bhatti of criminal negligence and misconduct by tampering with the objective papers and failing to produce an error-free result. Bhatti is also accused of fraud and forgery after 74 per cent of the results for objective papers were found to be incorrect after rechecking and manual marking.
The system analyst announced the results without notifying the BISE chairman or secretary of the errors and without their approval, the charge sheet said.
Further, Computer Programmer Asif Mehmood is also charged with tampering with the results and failing to issue error-free results as all changes made in the results were committed in the computer branch.
Sarfaraz Ahmed, the data processing officer, is charged with failing to transfer and provide properly scanned, processed and corrected data to the system. He is further accused of tampering with, changing and manipulating the result of the objective papers.
Criminal investigations carried out by the Rawalpindi Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) have already cleared Dr Qasim of criminal liability but charged the other officials with fraud and forgery.
All the four accused obtained post-arrest bail from the Lahore High Court last month and their trial is underway in a special anti-corruption court.
Published In The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2012.
The Higher Education Department of Punjab has charge-sheeted five former Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) officials in connection with the fake results issued last year.
Former BISE chairman Dr Muhammad Qasim, former controller Amjad Iqbal, system analyst Muhammad Afzal Bhatti, computer programmer Asif Masood and data processing officer Muhammad Sarfraz Ahmed have been charged with inefficiency, negligence and misconduct under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act 2006 (PEEDAA).
According to the recently issued charge sheet, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, Dr Qasim has been charged with negligence and inefficiency that adversely affected the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) Part-1 annual exams for 2011 and led to students creating chaos on the streets of Rawalpindi.
The chairman was also charged with failing to properly monitor the result compilation which led to faulty results for a number of candidates.
The third charge against Dr Qasim was negligence for turning down a request from the BISE chief secrecy officer regarding manual verification of the objective part of the HSSC-I. This forced the higher authorities to order rechecking of objective papers, the charge sheet contained.
Moreover, ex-controller Amjad Iqbal is accused of blunders in preparing the HSSC-I results. He certified in the gazette that the result was accurate and did not proceed for rechecking of results though there was sufficient time to do so, and in the process smeared the reputation of the examination body in the public eye.
Iqbal is also charged with failure to chalk out any plans for the secrecy and computer branches for smooth conduct of their affairs. “This showed his lack of supervision, sheer negligence and inefficiency,” the charge sheet said.
The former controller also failed to collect the award list of objective papers and processed data from the computer programmer during the rechecking process, the charge sheet noted.
Iqbal is also accused of appointing Suleman Khizar as computer programmer without obtaining approval from the BISE chairman and without following formalities as no posts were available at the time of hiring.
The charge sheet accused system analyst Afzal Bhatti of criminal negligence and misconduct by tampering with the objective papers and failing to produce an error-free result. Bhatti is also accused of fraud and forgery after 74 per cent of the results for objective papers were found to be incorrect after rechecking and manual marking.
The system analyst announced the results without notifying the BISE chairman or secretary of the errors and without their approval, the charge sheet said.
Further, Computer Programmer Asif Mehmood is also charged with tampering with the results and failing to issue error-free results as all changes made in the results were committed in the computer branch.
Sarfaraz Ahmed, the data processing officer, is charged with failing to transfer and provide properly scanned, processed and corrected data to the system. He is further accused of tampering with, changing and manipulating the result of the objective papers.
Criminal investigations carried out by the Rawalpindi Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) have already cleared Dr Qasim of criminal liability but charged the other officials with fraud and forgery.
All the four accused obtained post-arrest bail from the Lahore High Court last month and their trial is underway in a special anti-corruption court.
Published In The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2012.