July 28, 2008	Monday	Rajab 24, 1429

BADIN, July 27: Candidates who had clinched positions in an IBA-held test for teachers’ jobs have been denied offer letters on grounds that they do not qualify because they do not have BEd degrees.

Abdul Razzaq Bhurgari told this correspondent that he had appeared in the test, which was advertised in newspapers, after getting slip No.BDN-000027 on the basis of his BSc degree and secured second.

The result was published in newspapers with his name in the second place and 74 per cent marks, he said.

“When I went to Karachi to collect job offer letter, Sindh Secretary for Education Rizwan Memon refused to issue the letter and said it would be issued only to those who have passed BEd,” said Razzaq.

Awais Bashir, another position holder in the test, said that he was issued slip No.BDN-00005 on the basis of his BSc but the department deprived him of offer letter, arguing he had no BEd degree.

They said that scores of successful candidates were deprived of their right to jobs and many of them were later compelled to accept offer letters for the posts of junior school teachers in place of high school teachers.

They said many accepted the lower grade offer due to unemployment. If they did not qualify for the posts then why had they been allowed to appear in the test in the first place, they asked.

They alleged that the officials wanted to hire inefficient people after debarring them from jobs and demanded that Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza, Dr Zulfiqar Mirza and high-ups give them justice and provide them jobs.

Prem Shivani adds from Mithi: Candidates who had cleared IBA-held test for teachers’ jobs but were later denied appointment orders demanded that the government end the unjustified condition of 60 per cent passing percentage marks and issue offer orders to the candidates who had obtained above 40 per cent and below 60 per cent marks.

Talking to Dawn, Rano Khan, Mukhtiar Ali, Siddique and Gul Hassan alleged that about 4,500 candidates appeared in the test and 824 of them were declared passed after obtaining 40 or above 40 per cent.

They pointed out that after the result was announced they were hopeful that as they would soon be issued job letters but their hopes dashed to ground when the education department announced that only those who had secured at least 60 per cent marks would be issued job letters.

“Though there have been more than 1,850 vacant posts for PST, JST and HST in the district for last two decades, only 55 candidates (including 47 for PST, 3 for JST and 5 for HST) who secured 60 or above 60 per cent marks, are likely to get appointment orders,” they added.

Since Tharparkar was the most backward district frequently hit by droughts and literacy rate was low, hence the government should direct the department to issue job orders to the candidates who were declared passed in the IBA-test, they demanded.