New chief: At FDE, ad-hocery remains the name of the game

Hafiz Sher Ali appointed acting director general.


Riazul Haq April 11, 2014

ISLAMABAD:


Running the affairs of the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) on an ad-hoc basis goes on as a joint secretary has now been appointed its new acting director general (DG).


The Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) on Thursday appointed grade 21 officer, Hafiz Sher Ali, as its new acting chief. Ali was a joint secretary at CADD prior to the posting.

Recently, former FDE DG Dr Shahnaz Riaz was replaced by Federal Government Colleges Director Akhtar Mehmood Malik on February 13 only to be replaced with a new boss after his retirement.

Riaz was dismissed and then restored as FDE chief in 2010 on the Supreme Court’s orders. Ten days later, however, she was transferred from FDE to the Academy of Education Planning and Management (AEPAM). Upon raising the case, a three-member bench headed by former SC chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had ordered CADD to repatriate her to her parent department, restoring her as FDE chief in May 2012.

Even while holding office, the dynamic between Riaz, FDE directors and officers at CADD was quite off. This was attributed by some to political and bureaucratic wrangling at her behest. Some of the issues cited in her tenure were extensive red-tapism for education development projects and non-promotion of lower staff due to the absence of a promotion board, among others. Yet again, she moved the court but this time her case was dismissed for being frivolous, and she was fined Rs10,000 for wasting the court’s time.

The ushering in of a new era for FDE was promised by the new DG on his first day of office while meeting all the directors in the presence of ex-director Malik.  Ali vowed to right all extant issues and reboot the ‘swift’ file work started by his predecessor.

The FDE looks after 424 schools and colleges in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).  During the last few months, the capital city has witnessed several strikes, protests and sit-ins for the seemingly unending issues faced by educational institutes and its staffers.

“Appointing a permanent person without pressure from CADD or elsewhere will be exponentially beneficial, instead of allocating acting charge to bureaucrats,” said a director, adding that the current state of affairs offers deliverance from issues on a day-to-day basis, rather than following a long-term strategy.

Answering this query, former FDE DG Malik said CADD plans on interviewing senior teachers for the post, but no date has been announced as yet.

Dispelling the notion that a chief with temporary charge cannot focus on long-term planning, he pointed out that he had retired after his due course of tenure, which was why Ali has been appointed as his replacement. Consultations are underway, which may lead to Ali becoming the permanent boss, he added.

The rapid turnover of FDE bosses has negatively-affected development in ICT, evinced by the fact that not a single addition has been made to the Public Sector Development Programmes since 2009. Last year, not a single new project was announced, while for the coming fiscal year 2014-15, CADD has decided to include more than a dozen new projects to development programmes, which also include nine new schools costing Rs412.66 million.

Interestingly, another officer from CADD was also appointed Administration and Finance director in December 2013, but was later replaced due to strict orders from the Senate, stating that all officers holding dual charges be immediately replaced with permanent staff.

The CADD joint education advisor was contacted for his version several times, but he did not answer his phone.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11th, 2014.

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