461 officials blacklisted for exam irregularities

A recent report from the National Audit Office has revealed that 461 officials have been placed on a blacklist and banned from performing examination duties. These individuals were implicated in various alleged errors and irregularities related to their roles.

However, the audit uncovered a significant oversight: the information pertaining to these blacklisted officials was not adequately considered when they were subsequently appointed to examination duties. This suggests a potential breakdown in the system designed to prevent individuals with a history of irregularities from being involved in examination processes.

Further deficiencies were noted in the maintenance of the blacklist itself. The report indicated that crucial details, such as the national identity card numbers for 133 of the banned officials and the specific dates when the work bans commenced for 182 officials, were omitted from the official blacklist.

The report also referenced a previous decision from November 21 of the previous year to remove names of officials blacklisted for over seven years. While an answer provided to the Auditor General on June 5 of this year stated this action was taken due to shortcomings in maintaining the list, audit officials observed that this removal might have been arbitrary. Consequently, it remains unconfirmed whether officials previously blacklisted continued to engage in examination duties without interruption.