THIS is a story of ups and downs, and of hope and despair. This is a story of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission’s (KPPSC) Provincial Management Services (PMS) competitive examination that has been plagued by delays and controversies.

The KPPSC had advertised 95 vacancies for PMS examination back in January 2021. A screening test was put in place to filter out the most qualified people from 32,793 aspirants. The screening test was held in June 2021, and the results were announced in July 2021. The bar was set around 70 per cent marks for the aspirants to proceed to the written examination stage.

It was believed by many aspirants that the bar was unnecessarily held so high since it was a competitive examination and whosoever had applied for the aforesaid post, should have been allowed to take the written test. They voiced their frustration and held protests in Peshawar. Lobbying began in the provincial assembly, with voices turning up in favour of the aspirants and against the KPPSC.

The provincial cabinet decided to hold the screening test null and void and directed the commission to allow all the aspirants to take the written examination, which was to be held in October/November 2021. The provincial commission for some reason kept the date of examination secret.

From here on, the journey of the aspirants became interesting, allowing them to shape their own reality; social media became abuzz with rumours. Some speculated late December 2021 to be the timeframe for the written examination, others thought it was February 2022, and some ‘predicted’ March or May 2022. But the written examination was held in October 2022.

Usually commissions in other provinces take six to seven months to announce the results of the PMS written examination.

In this case, the KPPSC took a good long year, announcing the results on October 26, 2023.

Out of 32,793 candidates, 6,687 appeared in the examination and only 226 candidates were able to go through, which means a pass percentage of 3.3. It took more than three years for the commission to hold an examination and announce the result, while the step of psychological evaluation through interviews is yet to be conducted. KPPSC’s counterparts in other provinces manage to wrap up the whole process at the most within a year.

Who is to be blamed for such a long and sluggish process of recruitment? Should we blame the aspirants who lobbied and forced the provincial cabinet to slash the screening test? Or, was it provincial cabinet that had unilaterally decided to hold the screening test null and void? Or, was it the KPPSC itself that must have held the written examination within a year but dilly-dallied for two years and then another year for the written result?

Since the announcement of the results, there have been cries of despair from those who had hoped for the process to be completed within a year but ended up waiting for three years and, as it turned out, did not manage to get through.

The commission has failed to meet the expectations of the aspirants who have been left frustrated and exhausted by the long, arduous and uncertain road to recruitment.

While it is unclear who exactly is to be blamed for this situation, it is absolutely clear that the aspirants were the ones who had to pay the price.

It is hoped that the KPPSC will learn from its recent mistakes and make significant changes in order to ensure that future recruitment processes are more efficient and more transparent.

Subhan Khan
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2023