It’s been a whopping twenty-month wait for the appointment of the director general of the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), which is responsible for managing 431 public sector schools and colleges in Islamabad. This long delay has definitely sparked some serious concerns.
The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training is currently managing the regulatory body on a temporary basis since there isn’t a regular director general in place.
The position opened up in July 2023 when the previous DG was pushed aside in a pretty questionable way.
Since then, they’ve been managing the key office with some makeshift arrangements.
Back in September last year, the education ministry wrapped up the interview process for that important position and narrowed it down to three candidates.
The list was then sent over to the Prime Minister’s Office to pick the best candidate. So, it looks like the process couldn’t wrap up because, apparently, the PM’s Office had some questions about the summary.
“Yep, the PM Office got back to us with the summary.” “Well, there wasn’t really any big pushback. It was more about a court case regarding the DG’s appointment. The PM Office and the legal team told us to get the court’s clearance first,” shared an official from the education ministry.
He mentioned that the ministry is keeping up with the case and added, “Hopefully, the court will make a decision soon, and we’ll be able to resubmit the summary.”
A representative from FDE mentioned that it’s important to figure out why a regular DG hasn’t been appointed for the past 20 months.
“If there was a court case, it definitely should have been pursued with some energy, but managing the DG’s office on a temporary basis for 20 months really raises some eyebrows,” the official mentioned.
So, last year, there were three educationists who were recommended for the position. They were Noreen Ayaz, an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi; Dr. Shahid Razzaq, who is an Adviser at the Engineering Development Board and also an Assistant Professor at PIDE; and Dr. Tariq Mehmood, the Dean and Associate Professor at the Health Services Academy.
“We’ve wrapped up our interview process, and we have a panel of three shortlisted candidates all set to go.” The official mentioned, “As soon as the court settles the matter, we’ll quickly send the summary over to the PM Office for the appointment.”
It seems that former DG Dr. Ikram Ali Malik was let go from his role due to his disagreement with the education ministry’s plan to give a government school plot to a private company. This arrangement would allow the private firm to operate an elite school there for 22 years.
According to sources, the former head of FDE was also against a Rs1 billion project for teachers’ training proposed by a private firm, as well as the supposed interference from the ministry in the recruitment process.
