LAHORE: The Punjab cabinet’s standing committee on finance and development has approved relaxation of ban on recruitment for BS-1 to BS-16 posts in the public sector universities and boards of intermediate and secondary education in the province.

It has also allowed recruitment of professional and allied staff in BS-1 to 15 in the provincial special education department, and against posts in development projects.

The cabinet had on August 31, 2018 banned all recruitment from BS-1 to 16 in administrative departments.

It later decided in its meeting in November last year that all recruitments through the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) would be exempted from the ban.

An official of the higher education department said the chief minister had already approved the recruitment in the universities and the boards, and now the cabinet committee had given the final approval.

The recruitment in the varsities would be made by their selection boards. Their decision would be ratified by their respective syndicates.

The permission to recruit the professional and allied staff in the special education department has been made on the request of its secretary.

The department stated that it was facing difficulties in managing smooth educational and rehabilitative activities due to the shortage of staff. At present 1,098 posts of professional and allied staff were lying vacant in the department. In some institutes it was not possible even to provide pick and drop facility to the children with special needs in the absence of drivers.

The finance minister asked the department to employ psychologists for personality assessment of the candidates according to their job description because they were to serve special children.

The committee also allowed recruitment against posts of development projects on the request of the Planning and Development Board.

The board maintained that the pace of development work, especially in foreign-funded projects, was being affected because of the ban on recruitment and the expenditure against the development projects remained below the benchmark owing to the vacant posts as a result of the ban.

Those recruited against project posts are paid salaries from the allocated development funds. Such posts are abolished immediately after completion of the projects. Therefore, they will not additionally burden the provincial kitty.

MINORITY DEVELOPMENT FUND: The cabinet committee approved the minority development fund 2018-19.

According to the human rights and minority affairs department, the chief minister had approved funds for completion of 70 incomplete development schemes which were funded in the 2017-18 budget.

The committee asked the department to fully utilise the funds and avoid duplication or overlapping of the scope of work, besides carrying out the scheme solely in the localities of minorities.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2019