HYDERABAD: The Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) chairman has told The News in an exclusive interview that according to the findings of the investigation into February’s secondary schoolteacher (SST) recruitment test paper leak, “a girl contacted SPSC Assistant Controller of Examinations Zain Alam, and said she had cheated and leaked the paper”.
SPSC Chairman Muhammad Waseem said the security of the commission’s head office was non-existent at that time. He said watchmen have been ordered to remain alert, and police pickets have been established.
Security guards have been outsourced with special funds from the provincial government so that the security of the three entry and exit points of the building can be tightened, he added. He recalled that at 9:50am on February 20, SPSC Secretary Nazir Ahmed Qureshi had informed him that the SST paper had been leaked on social media before the test.
At first he thought it was a joke, but after the original paper was compared with the leaked paper, he was convinced that the test paper had been leaked. He said that after it was confirmed that the paper had been leaked, all the examination centres were asked to stop the test, while all the tests that had already been conducted and all the remaining ones were cancelled.
He also said he informed the Hyderabad commissioner and the Hyderabad DIG about the paper leak, following which DIG Tariq Dharejo himself visited the SPSC office to launch the investigation.
Waseem said SPSC Controller of Examinations Abdul Hafeez Leghari briefed them all about the possible involvement of eight persons, including the assistant controller, in the paper leak, following which police checked the mobile phones of these employees, then things started to become clear.
He said that a few hours after the paper leak, an FIR was filed against the eight employees, their mobile phones were sent for forensic analysis, and they were suspended and arrested. A two-member fact-finding committee comprising Rizwan Ahmed Memon and Muhammad Arif Hanif completed their investigation within 24 hours, he added.
He pointed out that the SPSC has 42 sectors, each having a separate incharge, and when the paper was leaked, Alam was the incharge, and it was his responsibility to keep the paper safe.
The SPSC chairman said that the details of the arrest of the girl involved in the paper leak, the report of the forensic analysis of the mobile phones, and other revelations would be disclosed before the anti-corruption court.
He said the commission has a confidential system for making papers and dispatching them, but now such changes have been made that a similar incident does not take place again. He explained that there were three entrances to the secret room, two of which have now been closed, and 16 CCTV cameras and mobile jammers have been installed, while there is no internet facility there and carrying mobile phones is also prohibited.
This scribe was later allowed to visit the secret room by Qureshi. There are lockers outside for the staff working in the secret room so that they can leave their mobile phones, and USB and computer devices there before entering.
From making the papers to dispatching them, the entire process is completed in the secret room, where the SPSC chairman or the members make the papers, get them photocopied, place them in envelopes for the centres, then keep them in a carton that is sealed.
CCE
Waseem said that fewer urban domicile holders apply for posts of other departments, including the Combined Competitive Examination (CCE), because they think they can earn more from private jobs and their own businesses. He said that there are 40 seats of urban Sindh in CCE 2020, for which 30 candidates have qualified.
He also said residents of the province, especially those holding Karachi domicile, should apply and take the exam to get government jobs. If they do not, the seats remain vacant, he added.
Regarding domicile verification, he explained that the SPSC checks candidates’ eligibility, but domicile verification is handled by the administrative department. He pointed out that CCE 2020 is being delayed due to the suspension of the commission, but it would play an important role in restoring its reputation.
He explained that in 2021 a joint petition of candidates was filed with the Sindh High Court (SHC), which decided that the 1989 Act, and its rules and functions are to be amended to bring them on a par with the standards of other provinces, and until then the SPSC would remain suspended.
He said that when he was appointed as the SPSC chairman in July 2022, the provincial government had at that time approved the SPSC Act 2022, and its rules and functions had also been formulated.
The first thing he did was to inform the SHC about all the steps to get the commission reinstated in September 2022. “Those who ran the organisation before me were not working, and were drawing salaries,” he claimed.
He said that after the restoration of the SPSC, he came to the Hyderabad office to take responsibility on the very first day, and announced the results that were ready but had been delayed due to the commission’s suspension.
The SPSC chairman said the CCE 2020 test papers were checked by other provinces, and the interviews of those who have passed are being conducted by a six-member committee. The results will be announced a week after the completion of the interviews, he added.
He stressed that things do not improve overnight, but after September 2022 there have been many changes.
He asked Sindh’s students to stay hopeful because in a few months everything from filing applications to checking results would be computerised.