KARACHI, Dec 29: A recent deputation of a college teacher at the Board of Intermediate Education, Karachi, has generated concern among the board's employees.

Interviews of employees and authorities concerned gave to understand that a lecturer from a city college, believed to be a choice of the governor's secretariat, was allowed to join the board as deputy secretary, a grade-18 post, by the BIE chairman in a situation when there was ban on appointments in the board.

While accepting the newcomer, the chairman did not even care for the sentiments of his subordinate officers of grades 17, who have been eying the post for the last sometime.

The employees say that the post of deputy secretary or deputy controller was a post which could be filled through promotion of grade-17 staff available at the board. While higher authorities are of the view that the post can be filled through direct appointment as well.

A group of officers at the BIE, in a presentation to the chairman of the Board, said a name from among them was also recommended by the appointment committee of the board, but that was ignored. Finally, an outsider was appointed in violation of existing rules.

Justice demands that the incumbent should be reversed back, and only those officers, who have put in maximum years of service in the board and know about its working, be promoted to such an important post, they added.

A senior BIE official held the development altogether as an administrative matter. He said he had not gone through the presentation made by officers on the issue, but would say that due procedures were surely observed in the appointment of the said incumbent.

Another official source said that if it was presumed that the college lecturer had been approved or recommended by the office of the board's controlling authority, the chairman had got all powers to disagree or accept the induction in question.

Independent sources; however, opined that in a situation when there was "ban on appointments" in educational boards, and even promotional cases were not considered, the government should have refrained from inducting persons on deputation, as those were nothing but tantamount to making "backdoor" appointments.

If they understand that appointments on certain posts are overdue and inevitable, those should be advertised so that deserving candidates could at least have a chance to apply, rather than curse the system, they added.