KARACHI, May 20: The pending recruitment of about 600 junior school, high school, oriental language teachers and physical training instructors in grades 14 and 16 at middle schools, would be finalized by mid of July, official sources said.

Initially, the government had decided to appoint 1,100 trained and qualified teachers, under the Sindh Middle School Project (MSP), which was initiated in 1994 with the funding of the Asian Development Bank.

Under the project, a number of primary schools have been upgraded to the status of elementary school, while new middle school buildings have also been raised at a number of places in the province, the Director of MSP, Mahmood Ali Lakho, informed this scribe.

During the years, 282 junior and 143 higher school teachers have been recruited through the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC). However, all the vacancies under the MSP could not be filled within due time as the SPSC could not carry out the required process, Mr Lakho added, saying that special permissions were granted by the then Sindh governor, a few year back, to fill the remaining posts by bypassing the Commission and taking some other measures for appointment.

Later, about 10,000 applications, from male and female candidates, were received against the remaining posts, under the MSP. After holding a written test through a management study college, about 4,000 candidates had been short-listed for interviews, which would commence in early June at various centres in the province, he continued.

Five recruitment committees, as approved by the Sindh chief minister, recently, would comprise senior officials of the Sindh Education department, representatives of the MSP, EDOs and District Officers Education concerned.

The committees would, most probably, finish their jobs pertaining to appointments of 36 HSTs, 255 JSTs, 179 OLTs and 179 PTIs, within a month, while letters to the candidates selected by the committees, would be delivered prior to the termination of the summer vacations and resumption of academic activities at schools in August, the sources said.