FDE gets temporary director general

Chief of private schools regulatory body to head education directorate

ISLAMABAD: Headless since December, the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) finally got a new director general, albeit on a contingent basis.

However, the capital’s teaching community has opposed the move, terming it another glaring example of ad-hocism adopted by the government.

The Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD), in a notification issued on Friday, appointed Hasnat Qureshi as FDE director general.

Qureshi is currently working as the chairman of the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) Islamabad. He will hold an additional charge of the FDE DG, a basic pay scale-20 post.



He will fulfil his duties in both roles for a period of three months or till a regular director general is appointed, the notification from the CADD secretary read.

Earlier this month, CADD Parliamentary Secretary Maiza Hameed had said that a new DG for the directorate would be appointed shortly.

Teachers oppose move

The news, however, has not been welcomed by the teaching community in the capital who decried the ad-hocism of the government.

The teachers pointed out that according to the recruitment rules, a DG should be either the principal of a degree college or a senior official at FDE.

“This has become a common practice that, ignoring the recruitment rules, the federal government makes temporary arrangements for the post of FDE director general,” the teachers complained.

They demanded that the practice of making ‘experiments’ on a sensitive department of the state should be stopped and that a regular director general should be appointed from within the system keeping in view the recruitment rules.

“An alien, inducted from the outside the department, knows nothing of the inner atmosphere and demands of the institutions. His stay means nothing but making money, promoting favouritism and spoiling the institutions.”

Pointing towards extraordinary political interference, the teachers said that a number of people from outside the department are attracted to the lucrative and consequently the pace of progress in federal education departments is affected.

They demanded that a senior professor from the federal government colleges, who is competent and has a comprehensive vision to improve educational institutions should be appointed.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2017.