ISLAMABAD: Although the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC), after completing the test and interview process, recommended the name of the new director general of the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) on March 4, the appointment process remains incomplete on the part of the federal government.

The FDE is the supervisory body of over 430 schools and colleges in Islamabad. However, this important organisation has been run through ad hoc arrangements since July 2023. After a significant delay, last year, the education ministry requested the FPSC to fill this post.

Subsequently, the FPSC, after completing its rigorous process of tests and interviews, on March 4, recommended the appointment of Javed Iqbal Mirza to the post of DG FDE (BS-21). However, the process has not yet been finalised. Sources said that the education ministry will send a summary to the federal government for approval before issuing a notification in this regard.

When contacted, an official of the education ministry said: “Summary is under process. And since ministry is processing it, it means we are following the recommendations of the FPSC,” he said.

Mr Mirza is already serving as Director of Administration at FDE. “The appointment of the DG has already faced an inordinate delay. Now, when FPSC has finalised the process, the education ministry and government should complete this process as soon as possible,” said a school teacher. He added that at a time when the federal government, under the education emergency, was working to improve the country’s education sector, keeping the post of DG FDE vacant for over two years “creates a negative impression,” he concluded.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2026