ISLAMABAD: The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has instructed the principals of all women educational institutions to send their teachers to the Sports Complex to fill the seats during the inaugural ceremony of an sports festival on Monday.

Most of the teachers of colleges have been directed to reach the venue at 2pm but they were not informed how long they would have to sit there.

The FDE has organised the three-day sports gala for female students. However, the chief guest for the inaugural ceremony could not be finalised when this report was filed on Sunday evening. The Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) was trying to get an assurance from Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rehman to be the chief guest.

A teacher of the Islamabad Model College for Girls F-7/4 requesting not to be identified said the FDE had sent a letter to the college stating that buses were required for the three-day sports event.

“The principals have been verbally directed to send the female teachers and students to the Sports Complex in the buses to ensure that the venue did not give a deserted look during the inaugural ceremony,” she said.

The principal of her college, she added, told the FDE that after the completion of the session most of the students were free and those coming to the college were taking exams and cannot be sent to the Sports Complex. However, the principal has assured the FDE that female teachers would be sent to attend the inaugural function, she said.

A teacher of F-7/2 College added that the management of the institution had already informed the teachers that the time of return from the Sports Complex could not be fixed as political personalities never reached such functions on time.

“Only one or two teachers should be sent along with students who are participating in the sports gala. Calling all the female teachers to the venue is aimed at pleasing some politicians, she said.

“My husband comes home late at night and I have to look after my children. It is not possible for me to leave the children at home alone and go to the Sports Complex,” she said.

It is not the first time that female teachers have been asked to fill the seats at a function. On Salam Teachers Day on October 5 every year, teachers have to wait for hours in the Convention Centre waiting for the arrival of the chief guest, she said.

Moreover, time to time educational institutions get instructions to send female teachers to attend different events, most of which are irreverent for them, she said.

“There are so many PhD teachers in their late 50s who are also sent to the venues of different functions and forced to wait in severe hot weather after 2pm.”

When contacted, Joint Secretary CADD Rafique Tahir told Dawn that about 15,000 female students from different educational institutions would be participating in the sports gala. The female teachers have been called because it is their event, he added.

He said it was a three-day event but teachers had been called only on the first day and there would be no concluding ceremony of the festival. “There will be less heat in the afternoon. Moreover, pick-and-drop facility will be provided to every teacher and student,” he said.

In reply to a question, Mr Tahir said he cannot say exactly at what time the teachers would be allowed to go home.