ISLAMABAD: The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has decided to involve the private sector in order to bring improvement in the education sector in the capital.

The directorate signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Moawan Welfare Foundation, run by former naval chief Admiral Asif Sandila and retired federal secretary Hamid Ali Khan.

The foundation will adopt 12 schools in Alipur for five years and according to the MoU, its role will only be that of a volunteer organisation reinforcing the government’s efforts for the promotion of quality education in these schools.

FDE Director Schools Saqib Shahab and Hamid Ali Khan signed the MoU at the education ministry on Friday.

A few days ago, an FDE team led by Director General Ali Ahmed Kharal visited the school run by Moawan and a vocational training centre in the Mahumanwali Village near Sheikhupura.

According to FDE, the team found the schools to be inspiring and decided to work with the foundation.

When contacted, the director schools said the role of the foundation will be that of a helper and that the adoption of the school will not create any legal rights.

He said that if the foundation makes any physical infrastructural improvements in the schools, it will become property of the schools.

“The schools will remain our property and our teaching and non-teaching staff will perform their duties as usual. There is no question of a direct role of the foundation,” he said, and added that it was the Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood’s vision to involve volunteer organisations for better and effective service delivery.

He said the foundation will help bring out of school children into schools.

Some FDE officials have questioned the move, saying that billions of rupees were spent under the Prime Minister’s Education Reform Program to renovate educational institutions but they did not help improve them at all.

“The DG should look into the faults in the system instead,” an official said.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2018