Change of plans: CSS candidates seek interview centre in Multan

Say they cannot afford to travel to Lahore.

MULTAN:

Nearly two dozen candidates for the Central Superior Services (CSS) 2014 examination and their families protested against the Federal Public Service Commission on Saturday, demanding an interview centre in Multan.

They had also held a protest demonstration on Friday.

The protesters gathered at Chungi Number 9. The demonstration was organised by the Civil Society Network. The participants blocked the road and chanted slogans against the FPSC.

They said candidates from south Punjab were being discriminated against.

They said interviews for candidates should be held in Multan, as it was hard to travel to Lahore or Islamabad on short notice.

They said the FPSC had sent them emergent notices on Friday for their psychological assessment.

They said they were told that the venue for their interview had been changed from Multan to Lahore.

They said they had had to visit Lahore twice for their medical examination.

The candidates said they had faced problems in boarding and lodging as they had to stay in Lahore and had to bear the costs themselves.

They said in the initial assessment, they had been asked to choose their preference for the examination centres and candidates from the south Punjab had picked Multan over Lahore.

They said the written exams were conducted in Multan in March 2014. Those who cleared those exams were asked to come to Lahore for medical examinations.

They said they were then issued letters by the FPSC about their psychological assessment in Multan. Bahauddin Zakriyah University campus had been chosen as the venue of the assessment.

They said 23 candidates from south Punjab would now have to travel on short notice to Lahore.

They urged the prime minister to facilitate candidates from south Punjab for the final interview. The protesters blocked the road for traffic for several hours. They dispersed after a police team met them and assured them that their grievances would be addressed.

The official notification sent to candidates by the FPSC said that due to administrative reasons, the venue of the viva had been shifted to Lahore. The previous schedule circulated on January 23, 2015 had been cancelled.

Out of 23 candidates, there are seven female candidates.

The interviews will start on February 11 and will continue till February 13. Candidates appealed to authorities to facilitate them.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2015.