Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: In a new and good development the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) has declared null and void the further functioning of faculty against administrative slots in the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE).

According to documents available with Daily Times, over 30 teachers serving on the various big administrative positions in the FDE against prescribed rules did not have the required administrative experience as they have been teaching professionals throughout their previous service.

The FDE in a notification had issued orders for the repatriation of eight teaching/non teaching officials to their respective colleges/schools. Due to internal rifts of the FDE senior officials, the issued orders were cancelled again by the Director General, Shahnaz Riaz.

The documents available read that after the DG’s orders, the Director Admn and Coordination (A&C), Abdul Waheed, once again overtook the directions of his boss (DG) and issued orders to uphold the previous office orders (teachers’s repatriation).

The superior body CADD, in a notification issued last week, said that all orders of transfers/posting issued within a month in the FDE are ‘void’. The notification states that the move was made under the direction of CADD Minister, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry.

Under the recruitment rules the faculty should have been appointed only for teaching purposes wherein the posting or transfers against the administrative posts was a violation of the terms of conditions of their appointments.

An official in the CADD, who wished not to be named, said that due to this maladministration the routine work is suffering. Not only does the educational standard suffer, but several officials affiliated with the entity were dissatisfied over the slow pace of work.

These exercises are only aimed at damaging the performance of the students. This becomes clear when one notices that not even a single student could get secure any position in the matriculation and higher secondary Part-I examination recently announced by the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE).

In a circular, CADD has directed that if any school/college yielded below average results in the exams held for enrolled students, the head of the institutions as well as the teachers concerned, would be issued show cause notices.

The result list of the SSC exams for 2016 available shows that many schools have below average exam results.

While sharing an official document he said that around 450 officials including teaching and non-teaching staff have approached the various courts for justice when they failed to acquire their own rights due to the mismanagement of the entity.

Moreover, in the official notes seen by this scribe it is stated that in its Special Audit Report (SAR) 2015-16, the Director General FGA observed ample irregularities in the FDE.

“The services of teaching and non teaching staff on administrative posts (in FDE)” is unjustifiable, reads the SAR 2015-16.

Furthermore, according to Section 2 of the Civil Service Act 1973, the faculty of the special service cadre, cannot be transferred to any other field job.

Besides the transferred officials, many have yet to be sent back to their original institutions. Tariq Masood is on the top of such a list. Currently he is serving as Director Colleges in the FDE. The Director’s post is an administrative slot while Masood does not have the experience because he only served as a teacher in his entire previous service. His actual posting is “Associate Professor” at the Islamabad Boys College Sector G-6.

A couple of teachers are another example. Sadia and Saima — are currently serving as Area Education Officers (AEOs) while by profession they are teachers in the IMSG F11/3 and IMSG E-8 respectively.

The AEO is an administrative slot and as per law it should be selected through the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) after passing through the whole procedure of the Commission.

The available information suggests that beside the said rules, the posting/or transfers have been discouraged and declared void on the various forums including the Cabinet Standing Committee meetings, in Islamabad High Court (IHC) and apex court verdicts as well as the Wafaqi Muhtasib. In 2013 the FDE had informed the Muhasib that “all the appointments against the administrative posts in the FDE will be filled up in accordance with the rules and regulations on merit basis”. But the practical exercise has not been done so far in letter and spirit, a source disclosed.

Both the DG FDE, Shahnaz Raiz and Secretary CADD, Hassan Iqbal, could not be reached for comments. However, a Director in the FDE, who wished not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said that this was the first phase: to transfer the officials on their actual positions as per law, adding that the rest will be sent back in Phase-II.