27 February 2004	Friday	06 Muharram 1425

KARACHI, Feb 26: The Sindh education department will send the requisition of 752 posts of college teachers, which at present are being filled on a three-year contract basis, within the first year of the contract period.

Sources in the government said the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) and the education department had reached an agreement on a set of criteria with regard to the ad hoc appointment of lecturers in the colleges of the province. The posts in question would be advertised again within a period of one year for recruitment through a competitive examination given by the SPSC.

Under the SPSC Act of 1989, among other functions, the commission is authorized to give tests and examinations for initial appointment to such posts connected with the affairs of the province. It was further learnt that the SPSC had handed over the names of its five members who would be presiding over the different committees overseeing the recruitment of lecturers.

A source in the SPSC said subject specialists, who were to be included in the various committees, would be assisting the SPSC members and the education department officials in an advisory capacity.

The Sindh education department had announced that the committees, each comprising three members, will have one official from the SPSC, one official (not below the rank of additional secretary) from the education department and a subject expert, belonging to the same department.

Five committees are likely to interview, within a period of one month, about 3,400 applicants who were short-listed after a written test that was conducted by a private-sector institute in December.

The success of a candidate would, solely, depend upon his or her performance in the interview. The marks secured in the test would not carry any weightage towards selection, it was emphasized by the SPSC in its letter to the education secretary on Feb 25.

It was learnt that the Sindh education department, after receiving the SPSC nominations for the committees, was in the process of preparing a detailed schedule of interviews. It was likely that call letters for interviews would be received by the candidates within a week, said a source in the education department.

EDUCATION MINISTER: In a statement, the Sindh Education Minister, Irfanullah Marwat, said the recruitment programme for college and school teachers on a three-year contract basis was being executed as a result of an agreement reached between the past government and the donor agencies.

He pointed out that after the ongoing process of recruitment was over, the system of contractual appointments would be done away with and the jobs would be offered on a permanent basis, as provided for in the rules.

The minister maintained that complete transparency was being observed in the appointment of the staff and as such allegations that the jobs were not being offered on merit were baseless. These allegations had been hurled at the behest of some vested interests.

Owing to recommendations from the influential quarters, and observance of a quota system in the past, the Sindh's educational institutions had been ruined, he said.