Tough times: No more rose-tinted glasses for purveyors of education

Devolution headaches for CADD, officials holding multiple charges, financial fears.


Riazul Haq January 03, 2014
With dire uncertainty prevailing in over 400 schools and colleges, the controlling authority, the Capital Administration and Development Division, seems in total disarray. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:


The fate of educational institutes in Islamabad Capital Territory has yet to see the dawn of hope. With dire uncertainty prevailing in over 400 schools and colleges, the controlling authority, the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD), seems in total disarray.


CADD was established to take over the duties of some ministries relating to the capital after these ministries were devolved under the 18th Amendment.

However, in this case, decentralisation has not been a blessing, as the authority has been inundated with increasingly complex problems pertaining to education with the passage of time.

The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), which oversees matters of education, as well as some schools and colleges, are being run by officers with more than one charge. This was revealed in a recent CADD senate body meeting, where officials stated that due to several reasons, some 13 officers were holding dual offices.

Some of those listed were the colleges director, who is also the acting-charge model colleges director, while the colleges assistant director is also serving as model colleges assistant director, and the coordination director is filling in as the drawing and disbursing officer.

Others include the urban area education officer (AEO), the Tarnol Assistant Education Officer (AEO), the planning and development director, the National Institute of Science And Technical Education director-general, CADD’s joint secretary, director and section officer, an officer from the department of tourist services and a superintendent from the national council of social welfare.



Reportedly, the concerned officials at CADD have reprimanded the division’s secretary and directed him to soon recruit officers for those posts.

Moreover, CADD announced the abolition of existing students funds at educational institutes last month in order to implement Article 25-A of the constitution, which guarantees free education.

This announcement came a day before a Supreme Court ruling about the status of education in Pakistan, purportedly to avoid any contempt order from the apex court. However, no preparations were made by CADD for alternate modes of revenue generation, due to which the salaries of over 16,000 contractual teachers and support staff hired by the schools are in limbo.

“I am not sure yet as to what they are going to do. If they were making announcements of such great magnitude, they should have at least made arrangements prior to the decision,” said Schools Director Ghulam Hussain Soho. CADD has also decided to abolish the second shift in model colleges in order to establish uniformity across all colleges.

The 20 model colleges and 11 federal government colleges in Islamabad are on the road to standardisation at the behest of CADD. This step has been taken in the wake of severe criticism of the difference in staff qualifications and other standards between the two, with model colleges considered far superior to FG colleges.

In response to this, CADD Joint Secretary (JS) Rafique Tahir said they were addressing all these issues, and there was a misperception that everything was at a standstill in the ICT education sector.

“Those holding dual office are there due to many reasons, and CADD is resolving the issue by inviting applications from those who are interested in the posts,” he said.

When asked how they planned on dealing with the situation in the wake of abolishment of students fund and salaries of staffers, the JS stated that all such employees would be paid salaries for January from the funds already available in college accounts.

Furthermore, the colleges have been directed to submit the amount they owe to the staffers while this expenditure shall be included in the routine allocation for colleges from the next fiscal year.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2014. 

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