PESHAWAR: The authorities have ordered inquiry into alleged ‘fake’ appointment of 159 Secondary School Teachers (SSTs) in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), according to sources.

Sources said that the teachers were appointed without the approval of competent authority and recommendation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission.

“In the first inquiry these appointments were found to be unlawful and now a second inquiry is underway to fix responsibility on officials involved in the scam,” said an official.

The issue came to the fore when authorities detected two bogus appointments in Orakzai Agency about three years ago. After investigations, the two appointments were found fake and the employees were dismissed. No action has been taken against any teacher so far.

Sources say 159 teachers have been appointed in tribal areas without approval of competent authority

The documents show that 31 fake appointments were made in Orakzai Agency, 37 in South Waziristan, 30 in Mohmand, 18 in Khyber, 10 in Bajaur, 13 in Kurram, five in North Waziristan, four in Frontier Region (FR) Kohat, two in FR Lakki Marwat, two in FR Tank, four in FR Peshawar and two in FR Dera Ismail Khan.

One person got appointed four daughters in Mohmand Agency while another got appointed his two daughters as teachers. The list carries names of three brothers, who had been appointed as SS teachers in Khyber Agency.

Sources said that after dismissal from jobs, the two teachers made hue and cry and disclosed more fake appointments. After receiving complaints, the Directorate of Education Fata deputed a senior officer to conduct inquiry into the matter.

After scrutinising the record, it was found that a total 159 teachers had been appointed in Grade-16 fraudulently. The documents revealed that the alleged bogus appointments were made in 2008 and continued till 2014. The last teacher was appointed without the approval of the appointing authority in March 2014.

Procedure for appointment of government employees in Grade-16 and above is that the department concerned asks the provincial commission to conduct test and interview for the desired positions.

After conducting test and interviews, the commission shortlists successful candidates and then chief secretary signs appointment letters of the respective candidates.

Officials said that the inquiry committee approached both offices [commission and chief secretary] which expressed ignorance about those appointments.

“Neither the commission nor the chief secretary office confirms these appointments,” said an official in the secretariat.

The director education was approached for comments but he was on leave while another official said that he had not been authorised to talk to media about the matter. He said that inquiry was underway and comments at that stage would be premature.

Sources said that another committee had been set up to fix responsibility against the officials, who had made those appointments, in the light of the report. The committee has begun inquiry and sought record of more than 2200 SS teachers from the Directorate of Education Fata. The directorate had yet to furnish required record to the committee, they said.

“The number of bogus appointments may exceed 200,” said a relevant official. He added that it might be handiwork of some officials inside the directorate.

Sources said that efforts were being made to sweep the matter under the carpet. They said that fate of the issue might be similar to the previous inquiries conducted in different line departments.

Officials said that recently an inquiry committee had unearthed 19 ‘ghost’ community health centres and dispensaries in Khyber Agency that had been functioning only on papers since 2003-04. The committee report has been hushed up. Ghost forests were detected in different parts of tribal area, but the matter was put in cold storage.

They said that Civil Secretariat Fata had conducted 57 departmental inquiries into alleged financial irregularities of funds in 18 line departments and directorates during the last two years.

“Not a single official has been held accountable so far,” they said. They added that all inquiries were related to financial corruption and embezzlement of funds in line departments and attached directorates.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2016