Sindh govt greenlights move to outsource matric, inter examination process

• Decision taken after multiple complaints of maladministration and corrupt practices.
• Govt to also automate examination process for transparency.
• Chairmen of all boards asked to outsource practice through open bidding.

KARACHI: The Sindh government has given the go-ahead to outsource the examination arrangements after it received complaints of irregularities and malpractice during matric and intermediate examinations and results across the province.

According to a The News report, the Department of Boards and Universities has written a letter to the heads of all matric and intermediate education boards in the province in this regard.

The letter states that due to multiple complaints of maladministration and corrupt practices during examinations and compiling of results of matric and inter results, Minister for Universities & Boards Department Ismail Rahoo has approved the outsourcing of the examination system from the upcoming annual examination 2023 in a phased manner.

The decision has been made to automate/digitise the examination process to ensure transparency and fairness as well as discourage malpractices.

The letter further requests chairmen of all boards to prioritise examination components for outsourcing through an open competitive bidding process in terms of the SPPRA Rules, 2010.

“All boards shall cover the required expenditures from within their budget allocation of CFY 2022-23. Once the exercise has been completed during CFY 2022-23, all boards shall calculate their detailed financial impact so that a regular grant (differential if any) would be worked out/considered,” says the letter.

The decision came a day after The News reported that due to ad hocism and non-permanent appointments in important positions in the educational boards of Sindh, the situation has worsened.

Also, due to a lack of serious steps by the Sindh chief minister, the situation has come to a point where 17 MBBS admissions have been cancelled in Liaquat Medical University, Jamshoro, Ziauddin University Examination Board has cancelled 1,200 mark sheets of education boards within Sindh, while the Dawood Engineering University has also cancelled many admissions.

Currently, in the eight educational boards of Sindh, all the controllers, secretaries and audit officers are either junior officers or have come from other departments over the last six years. While five education boards have had no chairman for the last two years.