PESHAWAR, April 13 The NWFP government has decided to replace secretary of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Peshawar.
“The chief minister has approved a summary regarding replacement of the secretary on Saturday,” sources told Dawn, adding that the summary would now be sent to the NWFP Education and Literacy Department and a notification in this regard would be issued on Monday.
Alamzeb Khan, a BPS-19 officer at the BISE, who until now was director academic section of the board, has been appointed new secretary, they said. BISE Secretary Jamshed Khan, who had been appointed on contractual basis on deputation, would be sent to his place of duty.The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal`s provincial government had appointed chairpersons, secretaries, controllers and deputy controller examinations on contractual basis to eight BISEs after the NWFP Assembly passed a new law, which authorised the provincial government to take over charge of the BISEs from the governor.
“Since then, the affairs of the BISEs had drawn huge criticism because the boards had senior officers, who could be promoted to these posts, but the former government appointed professors from colleges as chairmen, secretaries and controllers on deputation, which created heartburn among the permanent employees of the boards,” they said.
The government, the sources said, had formed a committee under additional chief secretary (ACS) to prescribe criteria for deputation, appointment and transfers on vital posts. The committee meeting was scheduled to be held on April 4 but due to transfer of the ACS, new date for the meeting would be announced soon.The committee -- included vice chancellors of the public and private sector universities, secretary finance, planning and development, secretary higher education commission, an officials of the BISE Mardan and representative of Edwards College Peshawar -- had been tasked to prepare recommendations regarding the qualification of the top officials of the BISEs, the criteria for their appointment, transfers and pinpoints the weakness, and flaws in the Act.
The committee`s recommendations would then be placed before the ANP-led coalition government which would decide about the future course regarding the eight boards, the sources added.
Sources in the education and literacy department said that the former government had appointed retired people on the vital posts and many of them were given extensions in their contracts. “It depends on the policy of the new government if it continues with the same persons or changes them.”
“The NWFP Assembly Act of 2006 that empowered the provincial government to deal with BISEs is pregnant with many flaws. Through it, even a 70-year-old retired employee could become chairman of any of the BISE,” they said.
