SUKKUR (Bureau Report): Candidates from Sukkur City who passed the PST/JEST tests in 2021 but have been waiting for appointment for the past five years staged a strong protest outside the Sukkur Press Club on Sunday, demanding that the Sindh government and Education Department immediately issue appointment offer orders on the basis of merit and scores.
The protesting candidates said they had appeared in the PST/JEST tests in 2021 and had remained on waiting lists through various stages for the last five years. They claimed that candidates with lower scores had already been issued appointment offer orders in different parts of Sindh, while in some areas candidates securing more than 40 marks had been recruited. However, candidates from Sukkur City who had obtained 50 or more marks were still waiting for their appointments.
The protesters said they had repeatedly been given assurances regarding their grievances. At times, they were called before grievance committees, while on other occasions they were told that their issue would be addressed in meetings of a special committee. However, despite appearing before the relevant forums several times, no permanent solution had been found to their problem.
They expressed frustration that five years had passed but they were still deprived of the appointment orders they believed they deserved. They said the prolonged delay had caused serious anxiety among the candidates and their families, with their careers and future livelihoods remaining uncertain.
The candidates pointed out that appointments had already been made in surrounding districts and other areas on scores of 40-plus, whereas they were still waiting despite securing 50 or more marks. They also criticized Sukkur’s elected representatives, including MPAs and MNAs, alleging that they had failed to effectively raise the issue at the relevant forums, leaving the future of thousands of candidates at stake.
According to the protesters, another meeting of the special committee has been scheduled for August 20, and they expressed hope that the longstanding issue of Sukkur City PST/JEST candidates would finally be resolved at the meeting and that appointment offer orders would be issued strictly according to merit and test scores.
The candidates said they were still pursuing their demands through peaceful and constitutional means. However, they warned that if their demands were not accepted at the August 20 special committee meeting and no clear progress was made regarding the issuance of offer orders, they would be forced to expand their protest.
They announced that they would organize peaceful marches and could surround Bilal House and the Sindh Assembly, besides adopting other democratic means of protest to press for their rights.
The protesters appealed to the Sindh government, Education Department, special committee and other concerned authorities to resolve the case of the waiting PST/JEST 2021 candidates from Sukkur City on a priority basis and issue appointment offer orders according to merit and scores.
They said immediate action was necessary to end the frustration among candidates who had been waiting for employment opportunities for five years.
A large number of PST/JEST candidates, including Mahfooz Ahmed, Majid Ali and Ali Raza, participated in the protest. They chanted slogans in support of their demands and called for immediate justice.
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