IBA candidates stage protest against ‘discriminatory’ recruitment policy

The candidates who recently appeared in the Institute of Business Administration’s (IBA’s) tests for recruitment of Junior Elementary School Teachers (JESTs) and Primary School Teachers (PSTs), staged a large protest at Jinnah Bagh with placards and banners.

The protestors denounced the discriminatory policy of the Sindh government for declaring particular areas as problematic areas and giving them relaxation for appointment on these teachers’ posts, ignoring other rural and backward regions of the province.

Social worker and teacher Liaquat Mirani was chanting slogans over a megaphone in the protest. Candidates Imran Sangi, Asif Laghari, Hazoor Shah and others complained before media persons that many questions in the IBA tests were out of context and contained several mistakes. Still, no action was taken against IBA authorities.

They said since 2019 when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, education institutions remained closed, and standards declined in Sindh, for which candidates were held responsible because only two districts were declared challenging areas in a Sindh cabinet meeting.

The government ignored the fact that the entire Sindh province suffered the same situation. The quality of education in the province was recorded low for a long time, for which the education department should be taken to task.

They said that the policy approved in the cabinet meeting was based on discrimination, and candidates of other districts were treated unequally. They told several districts of Sindh, including rural areas where the education system was wilfully ruined and destroyed. Still, only two districts were declared problematic areas, proving that a particular mindset was behind this decision.

They demanded that 40 percent marks be fixed as passing marks for both categories of teaching jobs, keeping in view the declined standard of education in the province. They added that the recruited teachers would further improve their performance during service and demanded offer letters.