Candidates barred from test hold protest

TIMERGARA: Dozens of candidates on Saturday protested after they were not allowed to appear in the National Testing Service (NTS) examination for appointments in Education Department. After being denied entry to the examination hall by the staff, the male and female candidates staged protest outside the examination hall at Wisdom House School and College, Timergara. They chanted slogans against the NTS staff and termed the act as biased. “If the father’s identity card was not acceptable, why they sent me a roll number slip then,” stated Aneesa, who had come from Maidan area to take the test. Zahid Ali, another candidate, told The News that he had lost his original CNIC and lodged an FIR in the concerned police station. He said he showed the FIR copy to the NTS staffers but they refused to let him enter the hall. “This is a drama staged to rob the poor candidates of their money. If we did not fulfil the criteria, why they considered our application forms; they should have returned it along with the admission fee,” stated Saira, hailing from Lower Dir and currently living in Shergarh area. When contacted, NTS staff said they had been directed to let a candidate enter the exam hall if he or she has the original CNICs or Nadra tokens along with the original documents. The candidates announced to approach a court against the organisation.