Mismanagement during teachers test | NED student's death inquiry

Mismanagement mars test for teachers recruitment
Karachi, April 25: Mismanagement and some incidents of hooliganism marred the written test for the recruitment of teachers for the government schools of Karachi region, depriving hundreds of candidates the chance of taking the exam, which was held here at the National Stadium on Friday.

The process of appointing teachers for the schools across Sindh began on Friday at all the 23 districts of the province with the written test of high school teachers (HSTs). The tests are being conducted by the officials of the Sindh University.

However, the test held here at the National Stadium for the post of HSTs for the government schools in the Karachi region began at 12.15pm, instead of its scheduled time of 10.30am amid incidents of tearing of papers by some candidates and rampant cheating in the test reportedly owing to leaking out of the test paper.

Sources said that since the contents of the paper distributed among the candidates at all the 23 districts of the province were the same, some candidates taking their examination at the National Stadium managed to find out the contents of the paper in advance through cellular phones as their test started at 12.25 pm while in other 22 districts headquarters it had started at 10.30am.

The trouble started when some organisers at the National Stadium asked all those candidates who were not in possession of admit cards to wait in the Stadium's Wasim Bari enclosure saying that their tests would be conducted once the examination of those having the admit cards was over.

However, such an announcement on the part of the organisers created doubts in the minds of the candidates without admit cards, as they thought that they were being deprived of the chance of taking the test. Shortly afterwards they not only protested but also tore the papers which had already been distributed by the time among those possessing admit cards.

Such a situation resulted in scuffles among the candidates and the police, who were present at the venue of the test, baton-charged the protesters causing injuries to some of the candidates.

However, when Executive District Officer (Education) Ibrahim Qambar, who was present at the National Stadium, was contacted he said that such incidents do take place in a big city like Karachi.

None of the senior officials of the provincial education department visited the National Stadium to see whether the test was being conducted in a transparent and peaceful manner.

Despite repeated attempts, this reporter failed to contact Minister for Education Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq, Secretary Education Rizwan Memon, additional secretary Riaz Memon to find out their version on the mismanagement that marred Friday's test.

Some officials of the Sindh University, who have been assigned the task of conducting the tests, expressed their dismay over the poor arrangements made at the National Stadium for the test.

Meanwhile, a press release issued by the education department's deputy secretary, Mohammad Husain Soomro, said that the written test has been successfully conducted in all the districts on Friday and no untoward incident occurred at any centre except in Karachi where a few candidates out of frustration created some problem which, he stated, was controlled and the test continued and was completed.

He also announced that the written tests for the posts of junior school teachers and primary school teachers, which are to be held on April 25 and 26, respectively, at all the 23 districts of the province will be held according to the schedule.

Besides, all those candidates who have not received admit cards can appear in the test by showing their original CNIC and receipts of applications submitted by them, the press release added. Dawn

Candidates protest poor arrangements
Karachi: Sindh Education Department has failed to make proper transparent arrangements for conducting tests for the vacant posts of Higher School Teachers (HST) on Friday at Karachi National Stadium while thousands of frustrated women candidates tore off examination papers in protest against the concerned authorities.

Despite tall claims of the education department to hold all exams in a transparent manner, cheating and use of unfair means were witnessed during the test. Heavy contingent of police, deployed on the centre, baton charged the angry male and female candidates indiscriminately.

The recruitment tests for vacant posts of Junior School Teachers (JST) and Primary School Teachers (PST) will be held today (Saturday) and tomorrow (Sunday) respectively. It is pertinent to mention here that Sindh University Jamshoro is conducting such recruitment tests, and charging Rs 500 per head from Sindh Education Department.

About 4,500 candidates were expected to appear in the said recruitment test however the paper was started at 12:15 noon while it was scheduled to commence from 10:30am.

Nearly 1,500 candidates, who were seated in separated enclosures due to unavailability of admits cards, entered the centre where other people were solving papers and started tearing off examination papers. They alleged that the education department wanted them to be failed.

On the other hand, the vice chancellor of Sindh University had already announced that the candidates, who failed to get their admit card, could show the receipt of admit card at the time of the test. The candidates were directed to bring their original NIC cards and admit card in the test.

As per reports, the test papers, prepared by the Sindh University Jamshoro, were being sold at the gates of the stadium.

The 28-member committee of the Sindh University appointed at the centre, said that EDO Education and Sindh Education Secretary were responsible for the mismanagement. They also blamed the concerned high-ups for not coordinating with the Sindh University.

On the other hand, some reports claim that due to the negligence of the Sindh University Jamshoro, around 8,000 applicants are still waiting for admits cards. The Nation

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Regulating the regular employees
Karachi: Contractual employees of BSEK were terminated immediately after earlier reports of corruption and cheating, however action against regular employees of BSEK is still pending. Some of these regular employees are still involved in irregularities at examination centres as well as BSEK itself.

Asked why no action has been taken against on service employees of BSEK who were nominated in inquiry report, Khan Yusuf Jamal, Advisor to Governor Sindh cum head of the inquiry committee, said that the BSEK chairman was the competent authority to take action against them. "The governor takes action against employees of BPS-20 or above, while low grade employees can be terminated by the chairman of the concerned board," he said.

Responding to a question about Butt, Jamal said, "Imran Tariq Butt is reputed to be the most corrupt official at BSEK and he should be terminated."

He further said that he had sent his recommendations to the Sindh governor, and he had approved all of them. The governor also terminated contractual employees and issued directives to BSEK chairman for departmental action against the employees concerned. He further said that they have recommended action against BSEK's employees under Removal of Service Ordinance 2000.

The BSEK chairman could not be contacted for his version till the filing of this story.

Besides the termination of contractual employees, the two member inquiry committee had also recommended action against the following: Assistant Controller Examination Imran Tariq Butt, Assistant Controller Examination Deen Muhammad, member of vigilance team Shariful Islam, member of vigilance team Muhammad Iqbal and System Analyst Muhammad Ashraf. They had also recommended filing FIRs against individuals found involved in irregularities committed at examination centres.

Asked why no action was taken against Imran Tariq Butt, Muhammad Ashraf and others despite directives issued by the Sindh governor, sources from BSEK said that the BSEK chairman has sent a letter to the Governor's Secretariat, and asked them to specify allegations against the accused, before deciding whether to serve them a show-cause notice or terminate them under the relevant law.

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NED student's death: KU inquiry committee absolves bus driver
Karachi: The inquiry committee constituted by University of Karachi (KU) vice-chancellor (VC) to investigate the unfortunate demise of NED student Faiza Nadeem Zaidi on April 18 has submitted its report to the VC, absolving the bus driver of any negligence and putting the responsibility of the accident on the deceased.

"The (late) student, due to the non-availability of NED transport, availed the KU point. She was in a hurry and got down the moving bus when it reached the Silver Jubilee Gate, without waiting for it to come to a halt. This lapse resulted in her sad loss of life. It was also found that the accident was not the result of any negligence of the bus driver," read the report.

Convener of the inquiry committee and Faculty of Management Sciences Dean Dr Abuzar Wajidi said that the committee had interviewed more than 20 students who travel in Khokhrapar point bus, the one used by Faiza Zaidi. "They all said that she was in a hurry and jumped down from the bus", he said. Many students and teachers were left in utter disbelief with the report's findings. Ms Ahmed, a student from the science faculty, who not only witnessed the accident but helped carry the grievously injured student to a private hospital, was appalled. "It is a lie. I was there. Other students were there. The girl died because the driver drove the bus dangerously while trying to enter the Silver Jubilee gate. There was a lurch, the girl fell out of the bus, and was crushed by the rear wheels of the bus. It seems the university is more concerned about disassociating the bus driver from any fault, it is shameful," she vented her anger.

A professor from the faculty of arts asked: "Who are the witnesses? What are their names? The report especially mentions the fault of an 'NED student' for travelling in a KU point, but most universities received their buses from Higher Education Commission (HEC) and our administration did not avail the opportunity. The VC shrugged off the proposal, saying that maintenance will be problem. They are oblivious of the students' transport problems. They use luxury cars bearing GP and GS number plates. Why should they care?"

Another student maintained that the university had failed to implement a ruling to close the doors of buses while in motion. He said that there are complaints about drivers and conductors picking up passengers who are not students, teachers or employees of the university. These passengers do not come to the university, but board and descend in city limits. These passengers are sources of revenue for bus drivers and their bosses, and hence the lack of action against them.

Some teachers of the university said that most KU buses had not passed their fitness test, and were not in a condition to run on roads. We tried reaching Registrar Prof. Rais Alvi for comment, but he was unavailable.

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SSC Part II practical exams from 27th
Karachi: The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Part II annual practical examinations 2009 are scheduled to start from April 27, acting Controller of Examinations of the Board of Secondary Education (BSEK) announced on Friday. It was also notified that the appointment letter/assignment letter of the head examiner, additional head examiners, deputy head examiners and external examiners for Physics annual practical examinations 2009 are ready for collection, and examiners should collect them from the conference hall of the board. The News

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PSF man's murder results in chaos in city
Karachi: The firing of unidentified culprits killed another man belonging to Pakhtoons Student Federation (PSF) on Friday.

The city closed down after the miscreants started riots and restored to aerial firing but no major incident took place.

Heavy contingents of law enforcers were asked to take strict action against those who were taking law into their own hands by rioting and aerial firing but they were unable to arrest any of the culprits till the time this report was filed.

Riots broke out in the city after a senior member of the PSF was killed. Sohail Khan Khattak, 25, son of Zahid Khattak, was shot dead near Pakistan Chowk within the jurisdiction of Aram Bagh police post.

PSF Provincial Deputy Organiser Dr Imran Afridi said that the deceased was a senior member of PSF and was also a member of PSF's provincial organising committee. Earlier, he had also served as a central committee member.

While strongly condemning the incident, Afridi said that the deceased did not have enemies and was not involved in criminal activities. He added that the people who want to disturb the peace of the city have now started targeting the student wing of the ANP. "He was such a nice person and his murder is linked with the recent killings of PSF workers," Afridi said.

In the wake of the murder, riots broke out in different parts of the city, especially in Pakhtoon dominated areas, including Banaras, Sultanabad, Keamari, Baldia Town, Sohrab Goth, Quaidabad, Malir, Daud Chowrangi, Qazafi Town, Majeed Colony, Queens Road, Mai Kolachi Road, Methadar, Kharadar, Light House, Jama Clothe, MA Jinnah Road, Guru Mandir, Soldier Bazar, Numaish Chowrangi, Saddar Town, Paposh Nagar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town. Unidentified men resorted to aerial firing to force the shopkeepers to shut their shops and angry people also burnt tyres on the road, pelted vehicles with stones and caused massive traffic jams.

The incident happened when the deceased was sitting at his printing press located near Pakistan Chowk where two men, riding a motorcycle came and fled after shooting him. He received a bullet wound to his head. A 9 mm pistol was used in the assassination. The injured was taken to the Civil Hospital, Karachi where he succumbed to his injuries. After receiving the news, hundreds of Pakhtoons arrived at the hospital where they started a riot and beat up doctors as well. The deceased was a resident of the Sultanabad area and has left two minor children and a widow behind.

Meanwhile, the PSF provincial deputy organiser said that a strategy is being devised to tackle the continuous killing of PSF and ANP workers, while demanding that the government conduct an inquiry into the matter immediately. No police official concerned was available when contacted and no case was registered till the time this report was filed.

However, according to a handout issued on Friday, Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Babar Khattak has ordered that the police officials take strict action against miscreants and enhance patrolling in the tense areas.

ANP man killed: An Awami National Party (ANP) leader was shot dead by unidentified men at night on Friday.

The deceased was identified as Aurangzaib, 35, alias Babu, son of Nabiullah, a resident of Nusrat Bhutto Colony. The incident took place when the deceased, in his rickshaw, was near the KDA Chowrangi, North Nazimabad within the jurisdiction of Hyderi police post, when motorcyclists opened indiscriminate firing on him and fled the scene.

DSP Mirza Majeed Baig said that the incident was a target killing in which Aurangzaib received five bullets and died on the spot. A 9 mm pistol was used in the incident.

The DSP further said that the police have found some evidence that suggested that he was affiliated with the Dawat-e-Islami. However, ANP Sindh General Secretary Amin Khattak said that the deceased was the vice president of the ANP Bilalabad ward. Daily Times

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