Several recruited to MoFA without test

KABUL (Pajhwok): More than 1,300 candidates have appeared in a test for 50 different positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in Kabul, where a number of people were appointed in the not-so-distant past without any exams, officials said on Friday.

Sources in the ministry confided to Pajhwok Afghan News 30 percent of the vacancies were reserved for female applicants. Law, political science, journalism, economics and literature graduates sat the test. Some of the candidates, including 300 women, held master and doctorate degrees.

Attiqullah Atifmal, the deputy administrative chief at the ministry, said the recruits would be trained at the Institute of Diplomacy based on test results before being appointed to Afghanistan.

In response to the query that the exams were not conducted in a transparent manner and influential individuals had been able to grab the posts meant for fresh graduates, he said: “Regrettably, a number of people have found their way to the ministry in the past without taking any test. I can’t deny this.” 

Without specifying the positions of the “powerful individuals” in the ministry, he said the problem had been resolved. Atifmal expressed his satisfaction with the present recruitment procedure. “From now on, only qualified people will be appointed on merit.”

He dispelled the impression that the Afghan diplomats, whose tenure had expired at different missions in the world, had been appointed to these posts.

“They have been ambassadors or have held other high-ranking positions. They won’t accept low-level jobs…” He promised those kept on waiting would be accommodated when new vacancies were created.

For reasons best known to the authorities, the recruitment exams were delayed for six months.

Dil Agha, one of the examinees, hoped merit would be the only criterion for filling the posts. But a contract worker of the ministry, who did not want to be named, alleged the exam process was far from transparent.

The source claimed he had twice appeared in such exams but in vain. “For those who don’t have the right connects, taking such tests is an exercise in futility.”

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