AIOU recruits 99 employees without observing merit

An audit report has revealed that Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) committed gross irregularities in the hiring of 99 employees during the fiscal year 2022-23, both on a permanent and contractual basis, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.  

The report highlighted that the AIOU administration ignored provincial and regional quotas while making these appointments, raising serious concerns about the transparency and legality of the recruitment process.

The report, issued by the Auditor General of Pakistan, pointed out that the university failed to advertise the vacancies as required by law.

According to the Establishment Division, publishing job advertisements is essential to ensure transparency and equal opportunity.

 Additionally, the vacant positions should have been filled following provincial and regional quotas, a requirement that was entirely overlooked.

Another aspect of the report is that no merit list, based on written tests, was provided to the auditors.

Furthermore, the candidates' examination papers were not available for audit scrutiny.

The auditors observed that basic criteria for evaluation were not followed before conducting the screening tests for the positions.

The appointments were not made on the recommendation of the university's selection board, which further discredited the legality of the entire recruitment process.

 The audit report specifically detailed the illegal hiring of 99 officers and staff members without proper oversight.

 The breakdown of these appointments includes six assistant professors in Grade 19, three positions in Grade 18, ten in Grade 17, four in Grade 16, eight in Grade 15, seven in Grade 14, one in Grade 13, fourteen in Grade 11, and nineteen in Grade 9.

All these recruitments were carried out without adhering to the necessary regulations, rendering them illegal.

Despite the serious findings in the audit report, the university's administration has yet to provide any response to the allegations.