KARACHI, July 26: Around 37,000 candidates from five districts --including 4,000 from Karachi -- appeared in written tests for the recruitment of primary schoolteachers in the province on Thursday.

These tests, which started on Thursday, would be held daily till August 1 in different districts of Sindh.

However, the candidates of Dadu district have been given some concession due to the floods in many of its towns where the tests would be held on August 4.

The situation at Kamber-Shahdadkot district, also affected by rains and floods, is stabilising where the teachers’ tests are scheduled for August 1.

Senior officials in the education department said that around 5,000 male candidates had applied for the posts of primary schoolteachers out of which over 4,000 (about 82 per cent) individuals appeared at the examination centre set up at the Cadet College Steel Mills.

The chief secretary and the secretary to the chief minister also visited the Karachi’s examination centre and reviewed the arrangements. According to Education Secretary Sabhago Khan Jatoi, arrangements at Karachi and other venues in Sindh were satisfactory where the tests were conducted in a peaceful atmosphere and no untoward incident was reported.

According to Mr Jatoi, some 126,000 candidates have been summoned for written tests across the province for 9,100 vacancies at primary schools in Sindh. Over 80,000 candidates were male and 46,000 were female, however, the officials had not specified any gender-specific quota for the recruitments.

“All the recruitments would be based on pure merit,” said Mr Jatoi.

Apart from Karachi, an examination centre has been established in each of the twenty-three districts of Sindh. In Karachi, two centres – one each for male and female candidates – have been set up. The tests for male candidates were completed on Thursday while female students would appear at the centre in NED University to take the tests.

Besides, the written tests were conducted on Thursday at Hyderabad, Larkana, Khairpur and Sanghar, where the attendance was recorded more than 90 per cent.

According to education officials, Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim, who had announced to pay a surprise visit at Larkana and Khairpur centres, showed up at both the centres and expressed his satisfaction over the arrangements.