ISLAMABAD: Restructured hiring procedures have been introduced in the National Database and Registration Authority with a focus on looking for brilliant candidates outside traditional talent clusters.

A senior Nadra official told Dawn that leading universities were being approached to find out highly gifted students, under a new recruitment plan that promised transparency and merit.

The restructuring plan paper seen by Dawn refers to massive political appointments on daily wages made by previous administration saying it had created trust deficit issues. The previous recruitment practices were unfair as future of a large chunk of employees continues to be hanging in the balance, the paper reads.

An official explained Nadra was viewed as centrepiece of all social protection programmes. He said it also dealt with sensitive data, executes highly sensitive projects like preparation of voters lists and census. He said at registration desks, Nadra staff dealt with the sensitive data of citizens. The restructuring entailed that the massive number of the daily wages, short term and internee staff were not given responsibility to deal with the sensitive data.

In order to regularise services of daily wagers, all such employees will have to appear in written tests and interviews. He said that Nadra Chairman Tariq Malik had also directed regional DGs to visit varsities in their respective areas of responsibility and carry out head hunting amongst fresh graduates so that Nadra could become cradle of learners, not the home for stagnant. Resultantly, two female fresh graduates, Ms Muneera and Ms Zakia, from the remote area of Turbat, Balochistan, applied for the advertised posts and were selected on merit.

When contacted, Nadra Chairman Tariq Malik said immediate corrective measures were aimed at revamping recruitment procedure. “The new hiring system is based on computer assessment, evaluation techniques, devoid of any human intervention followed by medical fitness and security clearances,” he said.

This process yielded in bringing Taj Muhammad, a sanitary worker, who did his Masters in Computer Sciences during his service in Nadra centre of Pishin, Balochistan, and qualified for the officer grade post of Deputy Assistant Director after passing the online competitive test and interview with distinction.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2022