Bashir Hussain Azad
Chitral, June 16, 2026: Serious concerns have been raised over the transparency of the recruitment process for a DSS position at Government Girls Primary School Kor Broz in Lower Chitral, with allegations of irregularities in the merit list prompting calls for an official inquiry.
A local candidate, Marwa Zeb, has accused the education department of manipulating the merit list after objections were submitted, resulting in unfair treatment of applicants. According to her, changes were made to the grading criteria and calculation of marks instead of addressing her initial complaint regarding the evaluation of her academic scores.
Zeb stated that under the official talent pool criteria, candidates scoring between 75 percent and above in FSc are awarded 16 graded marks. She claimed that her score of 74.6 percent should have been rounded up to 75 percent, entitling her to higher marks. Initially ranked third on the merit list, she said the correction would have placed her second, within the available vacancies.
However, after nearly four weeks of delays attributed to administrative reasons, a revised merit list was issued in which her position dropped from third to eighth. She further alleged that her BS degree marks were reduced by 12 points, with authorities shifting from a percentage-based evaluation to a CGPA-based system, which she said contradicted earlier criteria applied to all candidates.
Zeb also pointed to inconsistencies involving other candidates, including reductions in marks for matriculation and BS degrees after the initial selection, suggesting errors in the original merit calculations. Despite these revisions, she said, some selected candidates retained their positions, raising further doubts about the fairness of the process.
She questioned how such discrepancies went unnoticed during multiple stages of verification by education officials, including ADEO, ASDEO, DDEO, and DEO, and only surfaced after her formal challenge.
Calling for accountability, Zeb has urged the Deputy Commissioner of Chitral and senior education authorities to conduct an independent investigation, review the merit calculation process, and ensure transparency by making all records publicly available.
The controversy has attracted local attention, with residents and candidates demanding greater accountability and adherence to merit in public sector recruitment.