IN Sindh vacancies for CSS aspirants are divided broadly on a rural-urban domicile basis. It is further divided into open merit, women quota and quota for minorities.

It has affected maximum number of candidates, especially in 2011 results.

Candidates who qualified the examinations with just pass marks got allocation on the basis of gender, minority or domicile advantages. While those who had relatively higher marks could not be allocated on account of the flawed quota system.

History is evident that such indiscriminations of the system have always violated merits.

In fact, it should be the examination purely based on open merit, without any sort of discrimination related to gender, religion or rural-urban domiciles. Although the remaining three provinces have quotas for the minority and women, these little affect merit. While in Sindh there is the rural-urban system. It confuses candidates in terms of group allocation. Sometimes it favours rural candidates and sometimes urban candidates.

CSS examinations should be held with due consideration to the country’s development requirement. The FPSC and the authorities concerned need to address the shortcomings at their earliest. An open merit should be introduced in Sindh, as it happens in other provinces.

DR RAHEEL SHEHZAD Jamshoro