FDE: Two ministries vying for the department with golden eggs

Sources say there are a large number of vacant positions in the FDE.

ISLAMABAD:

Two ministries are fighting over who will get the control of the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE). Currently under the control of Ministry of Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD), the newly formed Ministry of Education and Training (MET) wants to take over the FDE and a number of other educational departments and institutions in Islamabad.

These departments include the FDE, Federal College of Education, Polytechnic Institute Islamabad, Directorate of Special Education, and the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

Currently, the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) is under the MET, while the remaining departments and institutes are with the CADD.

All these departments used to be under the Ministry of Education, before it was devolved to the provinces under the 18th Amendment.

Sources inside both ministries say there are a large number of vacant positions in the FDE, which is what has both ministries, and the ministers in charge of them, charmed. PPP Minister Nazar Muhammad Gondal heads the CADD while PML-Q Minister Sheikh Waqas Akram heads the MET. The appointments can help both politicians, and parties, gain political mileage with their electorate.

According to a senior official, the MET has prepared a detailed summary to bring all the education related departments under its control. The summary, the official said, will be presented to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf “soon”.

CADD, however, is making hectic efforts to retain them under its own control, according to an official with the ministry.

The MET says that since all these departments are directly and indirectly related with the education, they get dibs over them. CADD, on the other hand, says that it is in-charge of overlooking the federal capital, which is why departments of the capital should remain under them.

The MET had earlier issued a notification to bring the HEC under its control, but the notification was suspended by the Sindh High Court. An official source in the ministry said that it is amending the HEC ordinance to pave way for bringing the commission under its control.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2012.