Students from three Sindh universities staged a protest in Jamshoro in support of unsuccessful candidates of the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) examinations, demanding the cancellation and reconduct of the Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) 2024.
Organised by the Sindh Students Action Committee, students of Sindh University (SU), Mehran University of Engineering and Technology and Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences marched from SU’s central library to the local press club. Carrying banners and placards inscribed with their demands, the protesters later staged a sit-in at the Jamshoro railway crossing.
A confrontation occurred between students and SU security guards after the latter stopped the protesters from bringing vehicles equipped with loudspeakers onto the university premises.
The march was led by Fakhar Zaman Khuhawro, Wajahat Hingorjo, Hyder Ali Channar, Zabiullah Mastoi and others. Sindh United Party leader and lawyer Khuda Bux Thebo and Nisar Chandio, general secretary of the District Bar Association Jamshoro, also participated in the protest.
Addressing the rally, the organisers said the demonstration represented students from schools, colleges and universities and was aimed at demanding merit-based recruitment. They said the protest was also being held in support of candidates scheduled to appear in an SPSC examination on Tuesday.
The protesters rejected the results of CCE-2024 and called for the examination to be conducted again. They also demanded the removal of the existing SPSC management and reconstitution of the commission to ensure transparency and merit in recruitment.
The protesters called for the upper age limit for CCE candidates to be increased to 35 years and for one-paper examinations to 43 years. They also demanded that the number of attempts allowed for CCE candidates be increased from three to five, in line with the policy followed in Punjab.
The protesters warned that they would launch a hunger strike unto death if their demands were not accepted.
They further called for the cancellation and reconduct of engineering cadre interviews through a transparent process. They also demanded the formation of an independent judicial commission to investigate SPSC one-paper examinations and recruitments for BPS-16 and BPS-17 posts conducted over the past five years.
The protesters demanded that the findings of the proposed commission be made public and that results of SPSC computer-based examinations be announced immediately after each test.
