THE Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) is apparently under the influence of the influential elite. Almost all examinations conducted by the SPSC are marred by controversy. The judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Combined Competitive Examinations (CCE), 2013, for instance, speaks volumes about the incompetence and corruption in SPSC. Moreover, the SPSC has been violating the Supreme Court’s directives while conducting CCEs.

The SPSC, time and again, has acted against meritocracy.

It has been serving the powerful and the influential. Close relatives of powerful families and SPSC officers are recruited through these supposedly ‘competitive’ examinations, while hardworking and competent candidates are left to struggle on their own.

Results published by the SPSC reflect the prevalent incompetence, nepotism and corruption. A transparent inquiry will definitely unearth various scandals and malpractices exercised by the SPSC.

Undoubtedly, the implications of corruption culture in the SPSC will be felt for generations to come. It will affect not only Sindh, but also other parts of Pakistan.

The candidates who are allocated seats through nepotism and favouritism are most likely to harm the motherland for decades to come. These are seeds of corruption sown by the SPSC.

I am also a victim of the injustices practised deliberately by the SPSC. I have always dreamt of becoming a bureaucrat in order to serve my parents and Pakistan. I have been tirelessly working hard to that end since 2016. I qualified the written part of the CCE, 2018, but was not among those who were invited to the next step. Nevertheless, I did not give up and sat the CCE 2019 examinations and passed the written part again. But that was as far as I was allowed to proceed.

The recent results have shattered me from within. It seems money and political power reign supreme in the corridors of SPSC. I can no more stop myself from raising voice against this grave injustice.

Also, I am not the sole victim of SPSC actions. There are many other candidates who are routinely not allowed beyond the written test because they belong to poor and middle class families.

To stop the prevailing corruption in the SPSC, and to give due rights to competent candidates, someone must take decisive action against the mafia.

Junaid Ahmed Shaikh

Ghotki

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2021