Daily Times

KARACHI: Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) has sent 23 degrees and school certificates of basic pay scale (BPS) 19 & 20 officials to secondary and higher secondary boards Karachi and NED University of Engineering and Technology for verification, officials informed.

Out of 50 such officials, this is the first phase under which it would endorse validity of educational certificates, KWSB Deputy Managing Director Akhtar Ghuari revealed.

“Most of the officials have not submitted their education degrees and certificates during their service period. To confirm the genuineness of their education, this process has been adopted,” he remarked.

He said that the process would determine the completion year of their education and consequently to know whether those employees had passed their examination during service period with or without the permission of the entity, Akhtar maintained. There had been allegations of malpractice in recruitment of officers without confirmation of the educational documents in the past, but now this step would ensure clarity in all aspects, he asserted.

In the next phase, degrees of BPS 19 & 20 officers — who graduated from Hyderabad, Larkana, Khairpur, Shikarpur, Mirpur Khas and Jacobabad secondary and higher secondary institutions and respective universities of these cities — would be sent for verification.

The step is being taken in the light of Sindh High Court orders and on directives of Sindh government for confirmation of educational degrees of employees. According to court orders, KWSB was directed to verify educational documents of its employees serving in BPS grades 1-20.

It is the first verification of education papers of KWSB officials and in this connection, Rs 10 million had already been allocated, he informed. Secondary and higher secondary certificates, graduate and postgraduate degrees of the employees would be sent to their respective education boards and universities in Karachi and other parts of Sindh from where they graduated.

It would also help the department to determine whether officials were serving the entity in respect of having ‘right degree for appropriate job’, he added.

There are six grade 20 officials in planning, taxation, bulk, electrical & mechanical and West District; 44 BPS 19 officials out of which 1 is serving in administration, 6 in planning, 3 in finance, 2 in taxation, 4 in bulk, 8 in electrical & mechanical, one each in Malir and East District, 3 in South District, 4 in Central District, 3 in West District, 2 in Korangi and 6 in projects wing.

The educational certificates sent for verification included: 23 matriculation certificates, 18 intermediate certificates, 14 NED University degrees and 9 degrees of Karachi University.

Meanwhile, KWSB imposed a ban on the movement of service files having education papers, in order to avoid any malpractice.

However, some of the KWSB employees’ service files had been taken by Anti-Corruption Establishment and National Accountability Bureau Karachi for inquires on different counts.

There are 1,239 employees serving in BPS grade 16 to 20 with an overall strength of 11,838 officials. The office bearer of Combined Bargaining Agent have claimed that employment made on such grades have always been fishy besides promotion on false educational documents.

Published in Daily Times, November 20^th 2017.