Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir – Allegations of widespread irregularities have emerged in the recent recruitment process at the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA), the region’s only vocational training body, raising concerns over transparency, merit, and political favoritism.
TEVTA falls under the portfolio of Assembly Member Amir Altaf, elected from constituency LA-2 Hajira, Tararkhel. After a nine-month-long process, appointments were finalized earlier this year for six senior posts: four lecturers, one assistant director, and one accountant.
However, critics and whistleblowers allege that the entire recruitment drive was manipulated to favor the minister’s close associates and relatives of political allies—many of whom reportedly failed to meet basic merit criteria in standardized testing.
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Court orders ignored, candidates allege bias
Opposition figures and candidates claim that judicial stay orders were disregarded during the process. Interview call letters were allegedly issued selectively, bypassing higher-scoring candidates. Even as legal challenges proceeded, merit lists were finalized and displayed, leading to accusations of deliberate bias.
For example, the candidate who topped the merit list for the accountant post had reportedly ranked 135th out of 135 in the National Testing Service (NTS) exam, raising questions about the credibility of the results.
Similarly, both top candidates for the lecturer (Mathematics) posts were close to the ruling elite: one is reportedly the wife of the minister’s legal officer, and the other the spouse of a politician who withdrew his candidacy in favor of Amir Altaf. Reports suggest one had scored only 58 marks in NTS, while the other had failed entirely.
Comparable allegations surround the appointments of the lecturer (Chemistry) and assistant director, both said to have direct links to the minister and his party network. Critics argue that despite hundreds of applicants from across the division, all six positions went to individuals from the minister’s constituency and political circle.
“Merit remains in the pockets of the powerful”
Analysts and rights groups argue the scandal underscores a systemic issue: the erosion of meritocracy in public service recruitment. They say citizens are often made to believe in transparent procedures, only to see the final outcome shaped by political patronage.
“Merit, in reality, exists only in the pockets of the powerful,” one education rights activist in Muzaffarabad told The Azadi Times. “This isn’t about individual jobs—it’s about keeping citizens dependent on political elites for survival.”
A wider pattern of governance failure
The controversy, critics say, reflects a colonial-style governance structure in the region, where public resources and opportunities are monopolized by ruling elites. Citizens are pressured to pledge loyalty to political patrons in order to secure employment, further entrenching dependence and stifling independent civic voices.
Observers warn that such practices not only erode public trust but also undermine the region’s long-term development by sidelining competent candidates in favor of political loyalists.
Calls for reform and accountability
Civil society groups are calling for a transparent, independent review of the TEVTA appointments and reforms in the recruitment system to ensure equal opportunity. Advocates stress the need for universal access to modern, scientific education, equitable job distribution, and fair resource allocation as the only path toward building a truly representative and progressive society in the region.
Until then, critics argue, the system will continue to produce “compliant dependents of the ruling class, rather than empowered citizens capable of shaping their collective future.”
