IN November 2021, the Sindh government had announced vacancies for different positions in BPS 5-15 in various departments through the Sukkur IBA Testing Service (SIBA). The candidates were supposed to apply for each category at matriculation, intermediate and graduation level, separately. It was also mentioned in the advertisement that test results would be valid for three years which meant that there would be no separate advertisement in any department for three years. Each candidate paid a challan of Rs350 for any one of the aforementioned categories, and Rs700 separately for the second and third options.
Almost all graduate candidates applied in all categories and overall more than half-a-million candidates applied for the jobs. One can imagine how much revenue the provincial government must have collected from the jobless and the poor; it must have been in the hundreds of millions.
Just a couple of months after the said advertisement, recruitment was announced in Sindh Police and for vaccinators in the health department. This time it involved other testing services as well and that called for separate challans. Once again, millions were submitted.
The same is the case with the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC), as whenever new positions are announced, after the last date of submission of applications, tests and interviews are postponed till further orders for one reason or the other. The Sindh High Court (SHC) has actually issued a stay order on the recruitment for BPS 5-15 on a petition challenging the recruitment process.
Collecting huge amount of money as application fee for jobs, making the candidates wait for long and uncertain period and playing with their emotions is an example of extremely bad governance. Only by announcing one advertisement to fill the vacancies in all departments is not enough; it needs to be implemented in its true sense as well.
One fails to understand why separate positions for Sindh Police and health department were announced when the Sindh government had already advertised a test for all the provincial departments. Do those at the helm of affairs understand the emotions of those thousands of candidates who hardly managed to submit the hefty application fee to be able to apply for these jobs?
The relevant authorities should look into this matter to save millions of young people from frustration.
Ali Gul Leghari
Johi
Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2022
