ISLAMABAD: For the first time, the Ministry of Federal Education has decided to appoint a professional director general of Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) through competitive process.

The ministry of education has sought applications from the interested candidates for three-year contractual job of BS-21. The applicants are supposed to submit their applications within 15 days.

Earlier, the post of DG was of grade 20 and government officials including FDE senior employees, teachers used to enjoy their posting as DG.

However, this year around, the education ministry got the rules of FDE amended and post of DG was upgraded to BS-21, which will be filled through competitive process.

“Very soon a competent person through competitive process will be appointed as FDE head,” Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood told Dawn.

The officials of FDE spoke to Dawn that the post of DG used to be a musical chair during the last one decade as around a dozen of bureaucrats/FDE employees enjoyed their posting. But because of clash in rules, none of them could properly work. “No doubt the post of DG is lying vacant for four years and so. But we are happy as all is well that ends well, now, the DG will be appointed for fixed term of three years and surely he will perform independently,” said an FDE official.

The FDE--a supervisory body looking after the affairs of 423 schools and colleges of Islamabad-- is being run on ad hoc basis since December 2016.

Currently, Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (Peira) Chairperson Zia Batool is holding the acting charge of the post. She recently replaced Education Ministry Joint Secretary Syed Umair Javed, who kept the additional charge of the post in the FDE for almost over one year.

The previous PML-N government in its last two years in power made several announcements to appoint a regular director general but could not translate the same into reality. Then, the PTI came to power and it took two years to finalise new rules.

Giving a justification for upgradation of the post from grade 20 to 21, FDE spokesperson Saqib Shahab said that an officer of Grade 21, who would be appointed after competitive process, would run the organisation smoothly and independently. The official said that in the absence of a regular DG, several important policy decisions are yet to be made such as deciding the fate of daily-wage teaching and non teaching staff, upgradation of lab in-charge from grade 7 to 12, restoring proper sports activities in schools and colleges, etc.

The official of the FDE said that during the last few years, the education ministry introduced several new reforms for FDE-run institutions which if implemented properly, will bring real change in quality of education.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2020