VEHARI, Dec 16: The district education authorities seem bent on dampening whatever anti-corruption efforts are there as the incidence of all sorts of irregularities, including nepotism, has assumed despicable proportions.

Several candidates for the posts of teachers at various primary schools have pointed out malpractices in the recruitment process after they have been declared ineligible for the jobs. Some of them are even more qualified than those given the jobs.

Imran Maqbool, a resident of Chak 9-11/WB (Union Council No 1), is one of many complainants who have found wrongdoings in the department. He told Dawn that his application was rejected merely on a trivial objection by the education department officials who claimed that he was not a resident of UC No 1 and his domicile address showed that his residence (Chak 75/WB) fell in UC No 14. He said all documents clearly showed him as a resident of UC No 1 in Vehari’s urban area.

He said he had applied for the post of elementary school educator at the Government Primary School, Chak 9-11/WB, four months ago. Later on Aug 7, he said, the department displayed the first merit list on which his name appeared on top for the post. However, another merit list was displayed on Oct 21 and this time he was placed at 10th position.

Imran said he deserved 42.8 marks, but the officials awarded him 32.8 marks by disallowing 10 residential marks in the second merit list. What the officials did was that they placed Akhtar Shaheen on top, though he was actually on fourth number in the first list. He added that Akhtar secured 39.3 marks (including 10 residential) and eventually was selected for the post. In the first merit list, he said, the selected aspirant had only 29.3 marks.

He further said the officials at the EDO (education) office told him that he (Imran) actually belonged to Chak 75/WB, Joyanwala rural area which fell in UC No 14 precinct. He said he provided other relevant documents to the officials which included domicile, NID card, UC nazim and TMA’s verification, all of those clearly stating that he was a resident of UC No 1 locality, but the EDO simply rejected the evidence.

Ironically, both the lists the department had displayed clearly mentioned that Imran Maqbool belongs to UC No 1. Even that anomaly on part of the officials did not went in favour of the candidate.

Imran said he also contacted DCO Babar Hassan Bharwana and District Nazim Syed Shahid Mehdi to express his concern, but they too showed indifference as they did not even bother to order an inquiry. “What is the district nazim’s complaint cell meant for”? asks the dejected job-hunter.

Answering a question, Imran alleged that Akhtar’s close relative was an education department employee who, in fact, helped him approach some recruitment committee members to seek favour.

A study of the merit lists showed that another candidate, Shakeela Naz, had been offered a teacher’s job at the Government Primary School, UC No 2, despite the fact that she hails from UC No 3. Her name was placed on top of the second merit list.

Meanwhile, scores of candidates are daily visiting the EDO office with complaints about the recruitment process, but the complaint cell officials have no answer to the grievances. They allege that the officials have bended the rules to recruit the persons of their liking.

The job-seekers have demanded that the education ministry should abolish, what the officials say, 10 residential marks of proper union council so as to check corruption. They also want the higher authorities to review their cases and take stock of the malpractice, besides ordering impartial inquiry into recruitment of 440 educators on a five-year contract.

EDO (Education) Ms Naseem Mansoor said all recruitments had been made on merit and after going through the laid-down procedures. However, she had no satisfactory answer when she was informed that Imran Maqbool had obtained master’s degrees in education and Islamiyat whereas one of the selected candidates was a simple graduate.