Unable to retrieve from database

hi guys.... i got a problem here.... i doing a search program.... here it goes.. i use dropdownlist to choose the date... when the date is chosen and click search..... it seem tat it cannot retrieve from the database... i post my coding here... hope u all can help me solve this.. thankz



Dim insAppStartDate = StartDay.SelectedItem.Text & "-" & StartMth.SelectedItem.Text & "-" & StartYr.SelectedItem.Text.Substring(2, 2)


If Not insAppStartDate = "" Then
insAppStartDate = UCase(insAppStartDate)
sql = "Select a.NRIC, a.FULL_NAME, b.POST_APPLIED, b.APPLN_DATE FROM hrrs_personal_info a, hrrs_application_info b WHERE UPPER(appln_date) = '" & insAppStartDate & "' and a.NRIC = b.NRIC"

End If

All you are doing here is setting variable sql with a text string.

How are you passing the text string to the database?