CADD stops short of delivering

No update on appointment of teachers, payment of daily wager salaries

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) may have achieved the goal of renovating 22 new schools in different parts of the city, but they have yet to come up with a plan to improve the quality and governance at the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE).

The apparent scenario emanating from the ‘quick actions’ taken by CADD Minister of State Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, appears to be more cosmetic than fundamental changes inevitable in the sector for the past few years.

With his obsession for the media, Chaudhry’s office has issued more press releases since his arrival than actual groundwork in the education sector. The issues range from overhauling FDE and streamlining it, to resolving governance issues while addressing shortage of teaching and non-teaching staff in 422 institutions.

Three colleges (one urban, two rural) in the capital are being run by temporary staff, while Chaudhry has been assuring to resolve a number of issues including the issuance of salary to daily wagers who took to the streets in November last year.

Ostensibly, it seems that the urge to make radical changes in the education sector is waning with his interest to win over the social and political strata of urban and rural areas of Islamabad. This could be deciphered from one incident after an ad in local newspapers for the appointment of permanent teachers was withdrawn two days after it was published.

Sources privy to the development state that political pressure from his constituency forced the minister to withdraw the ad, as a certain age group was being ‘left out’.

Neither is there an update on the appointment of teachers, nor has any step been taken to release salaries to daily wagers who have not been paid for the past six months. With Tariq Masood recently appointed as the acting director-general, the appointment of a new director seems to be a distant dream.

Further, nothing has been done regarding teacher training and refresher courses, and the provision of computer and science laboratories for schools. Moreover several schools still fail to meet security requirements and have yet to be provided with well-constructed boundary walls with barbed wire.

Similarly, the administration has no plans to build new colleges, compelling parents to take to the private sector.

HEC

The Higher Education Commission has completed visits of around 150 universities in an effort to get a complete picture of standards that set the future of the country.

In a recent press conference, HEC Chairperson Mukhtar Ahmad stated that the details would soon be made public as some varsities had “serious quality issues”.

Starting programmes without proper approval from the commission, opening of sub-campuses without non-objection certificates without fulfilling the minimum criterion for faculty and students is a norm.

The HEC’s previous quality report had found glaring issues in faculty, students and research. Interestingly, the commission’s director general for attestation and accreditation is also a student in one of the varsity’s PhD programme.

The previous director of the same division was also student of the varsity, and had granted favours to the same university, according to the documents.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2016.