Hiring of nurses in merged districts: Committee formed to probe recruitment process

PESHAWAR: Taking notice of the public complaints regarding the hiring of nurses for the healthcare facilities in the newly merged districts, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has constituted a fact-finding committee to probe the entire recruitment process.

A handout said that on the directives of the chief minister, a fact-finding inquiry committee had been constituted and the Establishment Department had issued a notification to this effect.

The committee consists of Secretary Law, Secretary Establishment and Secretary Planning. As per the TORs, the committee would probe whether the hiring of the nurses was done as per the notified criteria, examine the procedures adopted for hiring to ascertain the fairness of the same and examine all the documents/certification required for hiring of nurses to ascertain that the hiring was done on merit.

The committee would also examine whether or not the credentials and documents of all the applicants processed properly and find out why the majority of candidates selected belonged to districts other than the merged areas.

“The committee may also explore policy recommendations/changes in the criteria to accommodate a larger number of candidates from merged areas in similar recruitments. The committee shall present its findings within two weeks, and the committee report shall be made public,” the notification reads. The chief minister through a statement said that the government believed in transparency and merit in the recruitment process and strict action would be taken in case of any violation of merit and the set criteria in the instant case.