ISLAMABAD, Aug 14: About 700 teaching posts are lying vacant in the schools and colleges situated in the federal area because cumbersome bureaucratic procedures are a hurdle in filling them.

According to an official document, the vacant positions range from principal in BPS (Basic Pay Scale) 20 to Trained Undergraduate Teacher (CT) and Matric Trained Teacher (PTC) in BPS-14 and BPS-9 respectively.

“We have requested the government to fill the vacancies and can hardly do anything more. This situation is badly affecting school and college education in the Islamabad Capital Territory,” a senior official of the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) told Dawn, requesting anonymity.

Government leaders may claim that the country was making rapid progress in all fields but the reality on the ground is entirely different, he said.

“What progress can be made when a file takes months to move from one government office to another?,” he asked.

While 157 posts are lying vacant in the CT cadre, the situation is much worse in the case of PTC where 177 positions are to be filled. Among them are 31 posts of drawing masters in BPS-9.

The FDE plans to advertise these posts in the last week of August and complete the recruitment process by the end of October this year.

Sixty-seven vacant posts of deputy headmaster in the BPS-17 have been referred to the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) for recruitment. All posts in BPS-16 and above are filled by the FPSC. Sixty posts of trained graduate teachers in BPS-16 are waiting to be filled.

Request for recruiting 26 senior teachers in the BPS-17 is also lying with the FPSC. The case to fill one position in BPS-20 through promotion in F.G. Schools is under process with the establishment division, along with three positions each in BPS-19 and BPS-18 at various schools of the ICT.