GILGIT: Hundreds of candidates boycotted a test for 32 posts in the Gilgit-Baltistan health department and protested outside Chief Minister House on Friday against “mismanagement” during the exam.

Protesters tore up the questions papers and chanted slogans against the GB government and health officials. Around 12,000 candidates applied for the recently advertised positions.

Soon after the test began, at a girls’ college in Gilgit’s Chinar Bagh area, hundreds of candidates started gathering outside the examination hall as a protest against mismanagement during the process, alleging that the question paper had already been leaked and there was no check on candidates carrying smartphones during the exam.

Candidates tear up question papers, boycott test, stage protest outside CM House

“It seems the test was just a formality. There were no arrangements,” Raza Khan, a candidate who appeared in the exam, said. “There was even no option of writing the candidate’s name on the answer sheet.”

The protest prompted GB Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan to take notice of the incident and he ordered that the test be postponed.

Candidates alleged that the management had no interest in conducting a fair test because the positions had already been finalised.

Another protester, Shabbir Hussain, regretted that the GB government had cancelled a contract with a private testing service agency and was now conducting departmental tests, “which cannot be impartial” as it helped government officials to “adjust” their favourite candidates on the posts.

The protesters asked the authorities concerned to address the issue and resolved that they would continue to boycott such exams until they were conducted by independent testing agencies.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2022