PPSC for transparent system of hiring at universities

By Khalid Khattak

LAHORE: THE Punjab Public Service Commission’s proposals to ensure fair and transparent hiring at public universities were presented before the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday.These proposals were submitted to the Chancellor/ Punjab Governor in PPSC Annual Report 2007. The PPSC had said that it had received complaints about favouritism and nepotism in the hiring process at public universities.According to the report, the acts/ordinances of the universities in the province required presence of a member of the Punjab Public Service Commission in the Selection Boards. The provision was incorporated to ensure neutrality, transparency and equity in the selection process, it said.“Most of universities have failed to frame rules, regulations and procedures for a fair and transparent selection,” it said and added that “the participating members of the PPSC are constrained to perform their duties effectively because of either lack of information or not supplying it altogether for proper examination and scrutiny.”The report read that an inquiry had revealed that universities invariably did not even send agenda and minutes of the meeting of the Selection Boards to the Commission for the purpose of checking their veracity. Unfortunately universities even do not have a mechanism to redress maladministration, it added.The PPSC has proposed the Governor/ Chancellor to circulate these instructions to universities. It said all universities should submit their laws, rules and regulations and procedures for selection to the PPSC for scrutiny and examination inviting proposals/ comments for their improvement/ amendments.It proposed that scrutiny of applications should be conducted by a neutral committee of a university headed by the registrar in accordance with conditions of eligibility advertised. It also proposed that rejection letters should be issued to ineligible candidates giving opportunity of appeal within 10 days to the vice-chancellor. The commission report also proposed that only approved minutes by the members of the Selection Boards be submitted to the Syndicate for approval and after its approval the results be declared and issued to the press, displayed on the notice board and websites of universities.The PPSC report also highlights that the standard of professional competence and general awareness of the candidates is continuously on the slide.Maintaining that the PPSC is a statutory body designed to assist the provincial government in selecting human resources for its smooth functioning, the report states the Commission has observed that education standard of the applicants has been on the decline. It reveals that the percentage of failure is the highest in the subject of English. “Mushroom growth of private educational institutions, affiliated with universities without due diligence and adherence to minimum norms and standards, have resulted in the low quality pass outs”, the Commission observes.The report says that educational system was neither need-based nor demand driven resulting in wastage of financial as well as human resources adding graduate pass outs appear to be a perpetual drag on the society. “The impressive academic credentials do not match with the performance both in written exam and interview, with the result that 1,179 posts remained unfilled during 2007 despite high rates of educated unemployed”, the reports claims.The PPSC has underscored the need of quality education at universities, colleges and schools. It has also recommended a uniform system of evaluation for examinations at universities and colleges awarding degrees with a view to reduce the disproportionate edge candidates have owing to marking standards.

Source: The News International
Friday, February 06, 2009