CH AKWA L: A total of 23,000 candidates, including an overwhelming number of women and 2,000 masters degree holders have been left high and dry since the recruitment process for grade four positions they applied for in May 2015 has been put on the backburner.

Chakwal`s district education department sought applications to fill 653 grade four posts, which includes peons, gardeners, drivers and laboratory attendants, in May last year. Officials from the recruitment committee were shocked when they received 2,000 applications from postgraduate degree holders for posts that required qualifications such as primary and secondary education. The recruitment process, which was suppose to be completed within a month, was shelved by authorities inLahore.

Noshaba Irum, a masters degree holder in health and physical education, applied to work as a peon because she was unemplayed. She said she has not heard back from the education department for five months.

`If the government was not willing to complete the recruitment process, why did it announce the vacancies and interview us,` she asked.

`The government has cheated us by cancelling the recruitment process without giving a reason.

Another application with a masters degree, Israr Hussain said he also applied to worl< as a peon because he desperately needed a job. `Despite having a masters degree I am living off my father`s pension, which is insufficient to meet family expenses. But it seems the government is not even ready to give me a job as a peon, he said.

Another application who holds a masters degree in English Literature, Adeela Nazar, said: `My degree is meant for posts in grade 17 but I applied for grade four posts and could not even get that.

District administration officials could notgive a reason for the shelving of the recruitment process. Executive District Officer E ducation Dr Ghulam Murtaza Anjum said: `We interviewed applications but after the interviews we were not given the go ahead from Lahore, which s why we could not complete the process.

Grade four posts in various district administration departments have not been filled due to indifference on the part of the Punjab government. Vacancies in the health department were also announced in May, and hundreds of candidates applied, but the recruitment process has not yet been completed.

District Coordination Officer Mehmood Javed Bhatti also did not offer a specific reason for the halt in recruitment. He said: `Class four recruitments in all the departments could not be completed because we have not gotten any order from the higher authorities.` He speculated that the process was halted because of the local bodies` elections, which have not yet been completed.

`We will complete the recruitment process as soon as we get an order from the higher authorities, he added, and said an order would be issued soon.