THE Balochistan Public Service Commission (BPSC) has been prohibiting applicants from appearing in examinations for not having the house job certificate on the day of the test when it is required during the interviews. This is nothing but a disappointment for most applicants.

The majority of aspirants have requested the BPSC multiple times for approving the submission o f house job certificates after the examinations, but all in vain. This is despite the fact that house job training tenures were delayed owing to the legitimacy struggle between the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC). Also, Covid-19 caused its own delays.

Initially, on March 2, the BPSC had announced 866 posts for medical officers and about 400 vacancies for women medical officers in Balochistan, with Aug 31 being the last date for submitting the applications. The graduates of the year 2019 could not start house job training on time in any hospital after December 2019 because of not having the licence, which was delayed as the PMDC had been replaced by the PMC.

The PMC spent more than four months to become fully operational. Most graduates received their licence after three to six months which delayed the house job process for up to six months.

However, right after November 2020, the BPSC issued roll number slips and announced examination dates from Dec 14 to 17. Later, it declared that candidates whose house jobs were incomplete would not be allowed to sit the examinations. It shocked and disappointed the candidates who had been preparing for this opportunity for the last one year.

If the BPSC does not allow the applicants, three things will surely happen. First, half of the posts will remain vacant as several aspirants will not be able to appear in examinations. Second, Balochistan hospitals, which require doctors on an urgent basis during the pandemic, will suffer badly. Finally, these candidates from Balochistan will remain unemployed until 2021.

The authorities concerned should direct the BPSC to allow the candidates to appear in examinations whose house job training was disturbed, delayed and extended due to the PMC-PMDC issue and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tehzeeb Yousuf
Kech

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2020