Education secretary ‘leaves’
‘Her transfer was expected ever since she spoke out against the education minister’.
KARACHI:
After a fight with the education minister, Naheed Durrani, the education secretary, has been sent on a two-month leave, which indirectly means that she has been transferred.
The notification for her leave has been issued by the chief secretary. Durrani is likely to be replaced by Siddique Memon, senior bureaucrat and former education secretary.
Durrani, who is the daughter of Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, developed differences with Senior Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq. When she spoke out against him during a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), her ‘long leave’ was expected.
Sources said that Durrani had been refusing to obey the orders given by Haq for the past two months. She said that the minister’s recommendations violated rules and regulations. “Tell Pir Sahib that I cannot obey his illegal orders,” she once told a man who visited her office.
During the infamous PAC meeting last week, Durrani lashed out against not only her boss, but also other politicians and parliamentarians. “Being an education secretary, I am under severe pressure. It seems everyone has turned against education and these people will never ever want our education system to flourish.”
Durrani said that, “the big hands’ are involved in deterioration of the education system in Sindh. I am helpless”. She had presented a shocking picture of the education system by pointing out that only 7,000 of the 47,000 schools in the province are running. Since 4,000 of these schools are located in the cities, our rural population has access to only 3,000 schools, she said.
When she announced that the government pays around Rs200 million for schools that exist only on paper, it was apparent that she will be removed from her post. An official told The Express Tribune that Haq had even complained to the chief minister about his daughter’s attitude. Shah reportedly told his daughter to avoid confrontation with Haq but she was adamant. “I cannot compromise on my principled stance.”
When the Pakistan Peoples Party government came to power, Durrani, who is 20-grade District Management Officer, was appointed as a special secretary for the finance department. When the chief minister took the portfolio of the planning and development department, he appointed his daughter as a secretary. Six months ago, she was transferred and made the secretary of education.
The Express Tribune tried to contact Durrani and the education minister but they did not answer their phones.
Major shakeup
A notification for other transfers and appointments of government officers was also issued by the Sindh government on Thursday. Accordingly, Ahmed Baksh Chandio Narejo has been appointed the secretary for works and services, Dr Azhar as the registrar for cooperative society, Akbar Leghari as MD for fisheries, Sulah Farooqui as secretary for information technology, Aijaz Memon as additional secretary for excise, Qurban Khoso as the director for anti-corruption inquiry, Salman Chandio as a member of the EMIT and Imtiaz Ali Shah was deployed as the project director for the Gothabad Scheme.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2011.
After a fight with the education minister, Naheed Durrani, the education secretary, has been sent on a two-month leave, which indirectly means that she has been transferred.
The notification for her leave has been issued by the chief secretary. Durrani is likely to be replaced by Siddique Memon, senior bureaucrat and former education secretary.
Durrani, who is the daughter of Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, developed differences with Senior Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq. When she spoke out against him during a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), her ‘long leave’ was expected.
Sources said that Durrani had been refusing to obey the orders given by Haq for the past two months. She said that the minister’s recommendations violated rules and regulations. “Tell Pir Sahib that I cannot obey his illegal orders,” she once told a man who visited her office.
During the infamous PAC meeting last week, Durrani lashed out against not only her boss, but also other politicians and parliamentarians. “Being an education secretary, I am under severe pressure. It seems everyone has turned against education and these people will never ever want our education system to flourish.”
Durrani said that, “the big hands’ are involved in deterioration of the education system in Sindh. I am helpless”. She had presented a shocking picture of the education system by pointing out that only 7,000 of the 47,000 schools in the province are running. Since 4,000 of these schools are located in the cities, our rural population has access to only 3,000 schools, she said.
When she announced that the government pays around Rs200 million for schools that exist only on paper, it was apparent that she will be removed from her post. An official told The Express Tribune that Haq had even complained to the chief minister about his daughter’s attitude. Shah reportedly told his daughter to avoid confrontation with Haq but she was adamant. “I cannot compromise on my principled stance.”
When the Pakistan Peoples Party government came to power, Durrani, who is 20-grade District Management Officer, was appointed as a special secretary for the finance department. When the chief minister took the portfolio of the planning and development department, he appointed his daughter as a secretary. Six months ago, she was transferred and made the secretary of education.
The Express Tribune tried to contact Durrani and the education minister but they did not answer their phones.
Major shakeup
A notification for other transfers and appointments of government officers was also issued by the Sindh government on Thursday. Accordingly, Ahmed Baksh Chandio Narejo has been appointed the secretary for works and services, Dr Azhar as the registrar for cooperative society, Akbar Leghari as MD for fisheries, Sulah Farooqui as secretary for information technology, Aijaz Memon as additional secretary for excise, Qurban Khoso as the director for anti-corruption inquiry, Salman Chandio as a member of the EMIT and Imtiaz Ali Shah was deployed as the project director for the Gothabad Scheme.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2011.