The paper chase: RTI Commission provides marked papers to complainant

Mufti Suhail had failed the Provincial Management Services exams in 2013.


Asad Zia April 02, 2015
The action is being seen as a major step towards achieving transparency within the structure of the provincially-conducted competitive examinations. STOCK IMAGE

PESHAWAR:


In an exemplary development, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Commission has provided corrected papers of the K-P Public Service Commission (PSC) to a candidate who had lodged a complaint against the marking system.


The action is being seen as a major step towards achieving transparency within the structure of the provincially-conducted competitive examinations. “In the past, it was unthinkable to even question the examination system. If you fail the exam, never in your life will you learn what went wrong,” said Mufti Suhail, a resident of Charsadda, who appeared in the public service examinations in 2013. Suhail added the RTI law has reinstated the people’s trust in the system.



“When I saw my corrected essay, I understood my weaknesses and am trying my best to overcome them,” he told The Express Tribune, adding it is up to the citizens how they wish to exercise their right to question public bodies. Mufti scored 658/1200 in the Provincial Management Services (PMS) examinations, but failed the essay paper and managed to score only 25% in it.

“Bringing the PSC into its net is a huge leap for the K-P RTI Commission,” he said, adding it is still impossible to break through the bureaucratic mechanism in place at the Federal Public Service Commission.

Mufti had filed an RTI application with the commission and after receiving no response within the legally-stipulated 20 days, he submitted a complaint upon which the information was obtained and provided.

When approached, K-P RTI Commissioner Professor Kalimullah said although the case is trivial on its own, it is a critical step at large and will help propagate the message over time. “It will lead to the restructuring of obsolete systems and bring transparency within institutions that serve in the public realm,” he noted, adding such disclosure will increase the efficiency of examining bodies and earn them credibility.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3rd, 2015. 

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