Saturday, October 25, 2008

The so-called government institutions

It's really pathetic to see the government institutions which are established to help and aid the general public are a source of frustration and problems for them. Is this the way our government is developing?

One of the government educational board forced me to change the name on my Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) just because it didn't match my A-Levels Certificate. The name on my A-Levels Certificate appears together with my Father's name while on my CNIC it appears separately. The officials said that I'm a different person and so I should change my name on CNIC.
I explained them a thousand times but the only reason they meant to give was SECURITY PURPOSES. That time I took it as a valid excuse; but the cycle of ignorance doesn't end here.

Recently i went to the driver's liscence office to renew my learning liscence. At first, I was amazed to see the new changes which included the taking and printing of photograph then and there. I filled the renewal form, submitted it to the concerned person and waited my turn. After 15 minutes my name was called and i went for the picture taking. Again I waited for the renewed liscence to print but then it was lunch break and I had to wait for an hour. At 2 o'clock, they gave me the renewed liscence with my name as Kashif and my father's name as Feroz. I told them that I had changed my name on my CNIC and now it should appear as Kashif Feroz. They refuesd to change it because the software doesn't have an edit, replace or delete option and is retrieving the same old data. I said that I've attached the changed CNIC and had also filled the form accordingly but they refused it saying again and again and again that my data cannot be renewed and it will print the same old data as filled by me when I first made the liscence in 2006.
Now what type of renewal is this? Saying it again and again that I'm unable to understand what they are trying to say, they just kept on frustrating me. I went to talk to the DSP in charge there and asked for a solution. He said if you've cahnged the name on CNIC, fill a new form instead of a renewal form. So, now I had to go through that hectic process again. I filled out the NEW form and went straight to the DSP office. He called an officer who took me to the concerned person for submission of form. Well they again said that the form could not be submitted because the CNIC number is the same and the software is retrieving the same old data again by following it. The officials went to the DSP and told him the situation. These were his dialogues: "It's your fault, not the fault of Kashif Feroz. So, if the software doesn't have an editing option, create it and solve his problem immediately". The officer and I were laughing heartily at his statement because there was no possibility of finding a software programmer and creating an edit option then and there. Then I gave a suggestion that I correct the name manually with a pen and the concerned official may sign it with his personal stamp to authenticate it. I had to get the name changed so that I could show it in my exam for name verification with CNIC. The concerned official seemed to be understanding as he immediately understood what my problem was and signed the manually changed liscence. Fianlly, I returned home.
You might have guessed by the now the reason for not creating an edit, replace or delete option. Yes, the same old SECURITY PURPOSES. What will happen of this security in Pakistan? Isn't there anyone to address this problem? Maybe there hasn't come any good leader who guide the way towards proper development.
I truly agree to the statement: "The misfortune of this country are its LEADERS"!