Adhocism: Three educational bodies without heads

CADD additional secretary says vacant posts will be filled soon.

ISLAMABAD: Delay in appointing heads of some key regulatory and training departments of education in the federal capital is affecting their working.

The departments — Private Educational Institutions Regularity Authority (PEIRA), National Institute of Science and Technical Education (NISTE) and Directorate of Workers Education (DWE) — are being run on ad-hoc basis for the last three years.

PEIRA is without permanent chairman for the last three years. The authority was established in 2013 under an act of parliament to regulate the working of all private educational institutes in federal capital.

Besides training and capacity building of teachers as well as fixation of their salaries, the authority is responsible to ensure uniform fee structure, curriculum and vacations.

Private Schools Network President Afzal Babar said the authority is being run on ad-hoc basis, as the government has not yet appointed permanent chairman.

“Since its inception, the authority could not regulate anything mainly because of political interference in appointing the new chief,” he added.

Babar said 2,000 private schools are operating in Islamabad. Of which only 1,100 are registered. “There is no uniformity in functions and fee structure of these educational institutes,” he said.

Sources in the Capital Administration Development Division (CADD), told The Express that NISTE and DWE were functioning without heads for over one year. The delay in appointing heads of these departments is affecting their work.

NISTE is mainly responsible to oversee promotion of technical education, while DWE is to arrange and conduct training programmes for government employees.

“We have written to the Establishment Division for filling these posts,” CADD Additional Secretary Qaiser Majeed Malik told The Express Tribune. He was optimistic that heads of these departments will be appointed soon.

He also added that Rukhsana Rehman is senior additional secretary in CADD but due to non-availability of permanent chairman, the ministry has given her additional charge of PIERA chairman as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2015.