KARACHI, Nov 22: Seeing the manpower available for examination works as inadequate, the sitting controller of examinations, Board of Secondary Education Karachi, wants to be relieved from his assignment.

BSE sources said that the chairman of the board has forwarded a petition of the controller, Syed Jawed Iftikhar, to the principal secretary to the Sindh governor for necessary action.

The controller had been reporting financial constraints and shortage of staff for some months as these were casting adverse effects on the process of compilation of results, but to no heed, added the sources.

In his letter the controller who is working on the post for three years said that in view of the prevailing working conditions in the board with “understaffed and depressed work force”, it was very difficult for him to discharge his duty smoothly.

He requested to be relieved from the post of controller of examinations by the middle of January.

The number of examination staff was inadequate and had been reduced over the years whereas the number of candidates appearing in examinations had increased considerably.

For Class IX Science the number of candidates has increased from 50000 (in 1993) to 80000 (in 2001), but the number of officials catering to them remained the same ie 8, mentioned the controller.

Referring to the curtailment of overtime allowances for the BSE employees, Mr Javed said that till August 2000 the workforce from other sectors of the board was also available after the office hours and the average working was upto 12 hours per day during examinations. In view of the restriction on hiring for extra hours since September 2000, additional hands were not available from other sections and that was why the working hours were reduced almost to half, he apprised the authorities concerned.

He said that out of 10 officers in the examination sector, he was working now with only seven, while no replacement had yet been given after the retirement of two deputy controllers and one assistant controller of examinations.