PESHAWAR, April 23: The NWFP Education and Literacy Department is dragging its feet over the chief minister’s directives regarding the appointment of secretary Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Peshawar.

“The chief minister had ordered the NWFP Education and Literacy Department to appoint Mr Alamzeb as secretary of the board (BISE) on April 12, but the directives remained unmet despite the passage of about two weeks,” said sources in the education department.

Mr Alamzeb, a BPS-19 official of the BISE, was appointed by the chief minister as secretary of the board to replace Jamshed Ali Khan, a college teacher who was sent on deputation by the MMA’s former government for a period of three years. His tenure has ended but efforts were reportedly afoot to extend his contract.

“The education department is using delaying tactics to enable the present secretary to get his contract extended,” the sources said. According to the sources, about 20 college teachers were working on deputation in eight boards of the province after taking over of board affairs by the provincial government from the governor through an NWFP Assembly Act a few years ago.

An official at the education department said that they had received directives of the chief minister regarding Mr Alamzeb’s appointment as secretary, and they would prepare the case and send a summary back to the chief minister.

A high-ranking official in the education department said that they would appoint Mr Alamzeb as secretary but a summary would be sent to the chief minister to fulfil formality. “We cannot refuse the chief minister’s directives but we are following the rules,” he added.