Daily Times

The hypocritical antics of the successive PPP provincial administrations to act as champions of the provincial autonomy surpassing the fervour of the nationalist political parties by word and practice have worn thin. The real purpose behind their impulsive actions has been the malevolent attempt to amass more powers to perpetuate the clientele political system in the footprints of the medieval utilitarian states.

In this ill-advised endeavour, they have grossly undermined the well-established legal and lawful systems, procedures, and practices and harmed the Institutions to the utmost peril of the people of Sindh. The education has been hard hit by their political and administrative pranks. Most of their decisions to bend the systems and procedures for the appointment, posting, transfer, shoulder promotion, and deputation or merger of teachers in other cadres have been driven by political considerations.

It was constitutionally established that appointments to the posts in grade 17 and above in all departments would be made by the Public Service Commissions. The powers of appointments to the other low-grade posts rested with the administrative head of the departments to be exercised by the prescribed procedures. Notwithstanding its minor faults, this system worked satisfactorily for years. The aspirants for public service and government jobs worked hard to acquire the needed academic qualifications and skills to compete for the desired posts. This is still functioning well in the other provinces.

The PPP provincial administrations, in a bid to have full control over the Sindh Public Service Commission(SPSC), withdrew the powers of the appointment of chairman and members of the commission from the Governor and transferred the same to the Chief Minister unlike the established practice followed by the other three provinces, and introduced the spoil system and method of direct recruitment to the posts falling under the purview of the public service commissions. With its politically appointed successive chairmen and members, the Sindh Public Service Commission has since lost its credibility as the impartial custodian of lawful, transparent, and merit-based appointments. Without going for a dig into the credentials of those appointed to the highest echelons of the commission by the provincial governments, it suffices to say that the Institution has continuously remained under the spotlight for gross malpractices in the competitive examinations and appointments to the provincial cadre posts attracting the opprobrium of the provincial and federal anti-corruption watchdogs and the superior courts.

With its politically appointed successive chairmen and members, the Sindh Public Service Commission has since lost its credibility as the impartial custodian of lawful, transparent, and merit-based appointments.

One of the commission’s chairmen, Justice Agha Rafique Ahmed, though a close friend of PPP supremo Asif Ali Zardari, mustered the courage to resign quoting reasons of gross interference by the provincial administration in recruitments, while its another chairman was sent packing home by the superior court. Many competitive examinations held by it were scraped by the apex court. A two-member bench of the Sindh High Court sounded its death knell by suspending it indefinitely until a rule-based system for its structural composition and transparent recruitments by the guidelines of the apex court are reframed.

With the SPSC under their thumb, the provincial administrations went berserk in dishing out jobs in all departments on the recommendation of the party leaders. However, their shenanigans in the education department have been more culpable. The appointment, promotion, and deputation of teachers to administrative posts for extraneous considerations have been endemic. The standard of competitive tests for recruitment of teachers and headmasters has been continuously lowered to accommodate those favoured by party leaders.

The candidates qualifying the test for direct appointment of headmasters held by the Institute of Business Management have been vainly agitating for their appointment orders for the past many years. Powers for appointment of lecturers in grade 17 were transferred to handpicked committees and syndicates of the universities – filled with the PPP affiliates – instead of the Sindh Public Service Commission. The late Justice Deedar Shah, who was a PPP MPA before he was appointed judge of Sindh High Court, was on the syndicate of three universities until his last breath. The qualifying marks of recent tests for the appointment of teachers were lowered to 33% to accommodate half-literate favourites. In another case, a few vocational teachers climbed the ladder of promotion from grade 14 to grade 19 within three years and were deputed to lucrative administrative posts. The senior school teachers have occupied lucrative posts in districts and tehsils including the District and Tehsil Zakat Officers on long deputations. Encouraged by such precedence, the senior teachers from all levels exercise their influence in political circles and the Education Secretariat to go out on deputation within the department or other provincial departments.

The unionism in the teaching fraternity is very strong from the primary to the university level. The union office holders exercise greater influence in the administrative offices of the department. Corruption and corrupt practices are rampant. The NAB has unearthed a big corruption scam of Rs.12billion in the pays pensions and GP funds of teachers in two or three districts. The ongoing investigations are expected to reveal further mind-blowing cases. Tuition and coaching centres have mushroomed. Teachers find it more profitable to spend the bigger part of their time in these centres.

There is gross malpractice in the Boards’ examinations including cheating, disclosure of question papers, changing of the answer sheet, purchase of grades, etc. A pre-medical student from my native town with 97% marks in his Intermediate Examination secured 27marks in the entry test held by the erstwhile Pakistan Medical and Dental Council. This was a classic example. There are many more such cases.

The majority of the A-1 graders from Sindh failed to secure 65% marks in the medical entry test held by the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) last year. The Government of Sindh has been pleading with the PMC to lower the passing marks of the test to 50%. Disregarding the result of the PMC test, the provincial Health Minister has asked the public medical universities to entertain the applications of students with 50% marks. However, the private medical universities have refused to oblige the Health Ministry.

(To be concluded).

The author was a member of the Foreign Service of Pakistan and he has authored two books.