ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will take a final decision about the fate of Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) after a presentation which the division is likely to give him on Saturday.

In this regard, offices of all the attached departments of CADD will remain open on Saturday as any sort of information could be sought from them anytime. Without mentioning any reason, CADD on Friday notified that all its attached departments would remain open on Saturday.

CADD, which was established in 2011 following the devolution of ministries to provinces, faces uncertainty about its future as the PTI after forming its government proposed to abolish it. So far, no minister has been appointed for the division.

All attached depts asked to remain open for providing any needed information on Saturday

CADD looks after the affairs of the leftover departments in the capital and supervises education, health and civic issues in the capital. All schools, colleges, public sector hospitals and Capital Development Authority (CDA) fall under the administrative control of CADD.

Sources said some bureaucrats were making efforts to ensure that the division was not abolished. And if there is any need, some departments should be shuffled. The sources said CADD Secretary Aurangzeb Haque would give the presentation to the prime minister for a final decision.

Some officials said top bureaucrats in the division believed that there was no need for abolishing the organisation when its working was satisfactory.

However, a senior official said in case CADD was not abolished there were chances of shifting the administrative control of schools and colleges in the capital to the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training.

The ministry of federal education is being headed by PTI senior leader Shafqat Mahmood.

After taking charge, Mr Mahmood announced that he would take every possible step to enroll all out of school children and improve education standards.

On the other hand, his ministry currently has no direct role in the country’s school education as after devolution education has become a provincial subject while the education sector in Islamabad falls under the administrative control of CADD.

However, Higher Education Commission (HEC), Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) and the National Commission on Human Development (NCHD) fall under his ministry.

Sources said the federal government was already convinced that the education sector in the capital should be given to the education ministry to carry out a fully-fledged drive to enroll all out of school children.

The capital-based hospitals could be put under the administrative control of the health ministry.

Before the devolution of ministries, education and health sectors were under the administrative control of the ministries of education and health. After the 18th amendment when the ministries were devolved, the health and education institutions were put under the control of CADD.

“A final decision will be taken by the prime minister and at this stage we can’t say anything with authority. But we want CADD to remain intact and if there is a dire need the education sector should be transferred from CADD to the education ministry,” said an official.

When contacted, CADD spokesman Atiqur Rehman confirmed that all offices of the attached departments would remain open on Saturday. But he did not elaborate on the reason behind the move.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2018