Away with the stumbling block, teachers demand from the govt

FGTA calls for sidelining CADD official for impeding implementation of the package.

ISLAMABAD:

The Federal College Teachers Association (FGTA) on Saturday demanded the government to remove the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Joint Secretary, Professor Tahir Rafiq. The teachers’ association is claiming that the official is responsible for impeding the implementation of their up-gradation package.

The demand comes amid protests by teachers of all federal government colleges against the non-implementation of Prime Minister’s promised package which was announced last year.

In a meeting between the representatives of FGTA and Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) Director General Atif Mehmood Kayani held on Saturday, the teachers held that Prof. Rafiq “is a controversial figure”.

However, the meeting ended without any headway as the college teachers vowed to continue their protest till they received a “formal notification”.

FDE Director General Atif Mehmood Kayani said, “I have told the teachers that their case has already been forwarded to the finance division.” When asked about the demand they made for removal of the joint secretary, the DG said that it was “also illogical as the file has already been moved to the finance division and CADD has nothing to do with it”. He said that Prof. Rafiq was previously a teacher and it seemed that there are old differences between him and the teachers.

Senator Saeeda Iqbal, a former college professor facilitating the meeting, said there is no headway as far as calling off the protest is concerned. She, however, said the meeting was “positive” as FDE DG has assured that the problems of the teachers’ community would be resolved.

FGTA Vice-President Professor Khalida Makhdoom told The Express Tribune that the teachers made it clear to the concerned authority that their peaceful protest would continue till the implementation of the package. She said that the package was announced by “no other than the head of the state and there is no justification in its delay”.

“Whenever we approach the bureaucracy for its implementation, we are told that there are lot of orders from the top authorities, this doesn’t mean that every order could be implemented in such a hurry,” she said.

Despite repeated attempts, Prof. Rafiq could not be contacted for comments.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2011.