Commission in Armed Forces

Getting commissioned in forces a dream come true for many

* Coaching academies mushroom in city

* Some say academies trend disappointing

* Some support training at academies

 

By Fawad Ali Shah Published at Daily Times, Peshawar on Oct 14, 2007

 

PESHAWAR: Joining the country’s armed forces as a commissioned officer is a dream come true for many youngsters who work hard to get through the Inter Services Selection Board (ISSB) exams.

Numerous candidates consult books written by ‘experts’ on how to get employed in the armed forces, but rumour has it that the ISSB examiners judge the aspirants’ inborn qualities, which cannot be attained through any sort of preparation.

Coaching academies mushroom: However, a new tradition has emerged in cities and many aspiring cadets think that one should join a coaching academy in order to pass the ISSB tests conducted at the Kohat centre.

Though getting training from such academies is banned according to the ISSB rules, one is amazed to know that most of such academies are run by retired army and ISSB officials.

Coaching academies trend ‘disappointing’: Brigadier (r) Mehmood Shah told Daily Times that the involvement of retired army officials in training at ISSB coaching academies was disappointing. “In ISSB, selectors judge inborn qualities, which can not be attained through practice.” Mehmood Shah told Daily Times.

“In academies, they kill your natural instincts and make you behave unnaturally,” he said, while adding, “Those who behave unnaturally cannot pass the ISSB tests.”

“Youngsters should not join any coaching academy, rather they should study books for guidance,” the retired army official said. Some support training at coaching academies: People who run coaching academies for ISSB tests hold a different view.

Hafiz Nawaz, who is a psychologist and runs the “Muhammadian Coaching Academy” said, “Here at the academy, I deal with the psychological problems of my students.” He said he had never dictated his students how to behave in the ISSB.

“I am doing this job for the last 10 years and I know what is the selection criteria of ISSB,” the psychologist said, adding: “ I polish those inborn qualities of students which are judged in ISSB. If somebody does not have these I cannot help him.” He said he could not incorporate his ideas into the minds of his students.

Colonal (r) Saeed, who runs the Noor Academy, stated, “I have hired former ISSB officials to manage the academy.” Our experts teach students everything from A to Z about the ISSB.”

He said over 90 percent of his students were serving the Pakistan Army as commissioned officers. “Many of my students have won the sword of honour at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakool,” he claimed.

Nazeer Ali, who is running the Officers Academy in the city, opined, “I think joining a coaching academy is necessary to get commissioned in the Army.”
He said he had hired ex-army officials for teaching at his academy. “They are experts in this field, that is why most of our students succeed in the ISSB,” he said.

Mudassar Ali shah, who is getting trained at the Al-Noor Academy, told Daily Times that ex-army officials had been training them for ISSB tests. “Most of our teachers have served at the ISSB and they are coaching us accordingly. They teach us how to control our emotions during an interview,” he added.

He said teachers provided readymade notes to students who study the notes to prepare for the ISSB psychological tests.

Asim Ali, a former student of the Muhammadian Academy, said the academy had provided him basic information about the ISSB. “Mostly, our teachers help us solve our psychological problems,” he added.

He also said the teachers had dictated him how to behave in front of the ISSB selection panel.

‘No need of joining academies’: A Pakistan Army cadet told Daily Times on condition of anonymity, “If you are deserving candidate, the ISSB panel will select you.” He added that it was not necessary to join an academy, adding that he belonged to a backward village where there was no concept of coaching academies. “Those who are commissioned in the army by using unfair means cannot survive the military training at Kakool,” he said.

However, the ISSB officials have banned joining coaching academies, whether they are good or bad.

“Academies destroy natural talent,” an ISSB official said, adding that whenever the selection board came to know that somebody had joined coaching academy before appearing in the selection board tests, he was usually disqualified.

End