What’s in a name?: How to not ‘model’ a college
FG schools renamed model; facilities and teaching standards remain unchanged.
ISLAMABAD:
They were renamed to model schools and colleges, but their educational standards remain as bad as they were 18 months ago.
In a bid to bring uniformity, on October 8, 2010, the prime minister announced a system granting equal facilities and opportunities to all ICT institutions. Later on February 18, 2011, the PM also issued directives to implement an already announced upgradation package for teachers.
The Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) renamed the FG institutions as model ones, but did little to improve to the teaching standards or facilities in the institutions.
Presently there are 421 Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) administered schools in ICT. Before changing the nomenclature, in additional to the schools, there were around 21 model and 10 FG colleges. People prefer enrolling their students into the model institutions due to better education and other amenities, but there is insufficient space to cater to the fast-growing ICT population.
A teacher at one of these renamed institutions said, “Our prime demand was to merge the institutions and provision of equal facilities and incentives to FG and models institutions. But we have not seen any visible change in the system except renaming, which is not enough as far as the objective of uniformity is concerned.”
Federal Government College Teachers Association (FGCTA) General Secretary Prof Tahir Mehmood said that two different systems still exist in the FDE with separate directors and continuing discrimination.
The teachers of FG institutions should be transferred to model colleges and their teachers be posted in FG institutions to amalgamate them so that they will equally benefit from the uniform system, said another teacher. “I have been in the FG system for the last 16 years and am still waiting for promotion, while teachers in model colleges have been promoted within five years of their appointment,” he added.
FDE Director General Atif Mehmood Kayani said that the directorate had made standard operating procedures to address the uniformity issue and has sent them to CADD for further deliberation. He said “hopefully the uniformity issue would be settled this year”.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 2nd, 2012.
They were renamed to model schools and colleges, but their educational standards remain as bad as they were 18 months ago.
In a bid to bring uniformity, on October 8, 2010, the prime minister announced a system granting equal facilities and opportunities to all ICT institutions. Later on February 18, 2011, the PM also issued directives to implement an already announced upgradation package for teachers.
The Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) renamed the FG institutions as model ones, but did little to improve to the teaching standards or facilities in the institutions.
Presently there are 421 Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) administered schools in ICT. Before changing the nomenclature, in additional to the schools, there were around 21 model and 10 FG colleges. People prefer enrolling their students into the model institutions due to better education and other amenities, but there is insufficient space to cater to the fast-growing ICT population.
A teacher at one of these renamed institutions said, “Our prime demand was to merge the institutions and provision of equal facilities and incentives to FG and models institutions. But we have not seen any visible change in the system except renaming, which is not enough as far as the objective of uniformity is concerned.”
Federal Government College Teachers Association (FGCTA) General Secretary Prof Tahir Mehmood said that two different systems still exist in the FDE with separate directors and continuing discrimination.
The teachers of FG institutions should be transferred to model colleges and their teachers be posted in FG institutions to amalgamate them so that they will equally benefit from the uniform system, said another teacher. “I have been in the FG system for the last 16 years and am still waiting for promotion, while teachers in model colleges have been promoted within five years of their appointment,” he added.
FDE Director General Atif Mehmood Kayani said that the directorate had made standard operating procedures to address the uniformity issue and has sent them to CADD for further deliberation. He said “hopefully the uniformity issue would be settled this year”.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 2nd, 2012.