Education matters: Bifurcation of FDE on cards

The plan envisages to bring more efficiency and ease the burden on the FDE.

ISLAMABAD:

To ease the burden of work on the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), the Ministry of Capital Administration and Development (CAD) Islamabad is contemplating a plan for its division.

The plan, on the cards, envisages separating the administrative powers and controlling authority of schools, federal government
colleges and model colleges. The FDE currently oversees 422 educational institutions in all.

CAD Federal Minister Nazar Muhammad Gondal and Secretary Riffat Shaheen Qazi have given their assent to the proposal.

There has been a mixed reaction among people working in the FDE affiliated educational institutions about the decision.

“We now hope the problems being faced by colleges will be resolved promptly,” said Ali Yasir, Principal Islamabad Model College for Boys F-10/2.

A director at the FDE told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity that such a move was inevitable given the fact that the FDE was overloaded with work.

This division will also help set up more colleges, which is a distant dream right now, he said.

Currently, there are 31 colleges including 20 model and 11 federal government in Islamabad



The Secretary CAD termed the move a step forward. “This is a step towards delegation of power,” she added.

Meanwhile, FDE Director General Dr Shahnaaz Anjum Riaz doubted that the authorities will give a go-head to the proposal.

FG College Teachers Association President Tahir Mehmood said though the FDE has been hell for teachers, they would not favour its division to serve “vested interest”.

Islamabad Model Colleges’ Non-Teaching Staff Association President Aftab Abbsi said this effort will justify the allocation of funds for new colleges. “Currently the colleges are overcrowded and even in the second shift, each class has over 60 students on an average,” he said. “Not a single new college has been constructed since 2005.”

Earlier this month there had been sit-ins by teachers of model schools and colleges demanding division of the FDE.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2013.