PESHAWAR, Nov 12: The Frontier Education Foundation (FEF), a private investor in education sector, has opened seven colleges in the province, but none of them is affiliated with their respective secondary boards or universities.
According to rules, a degree college cannot be opened unless approved by the universities concerned. And before seeking university affiliation, it is necessary for them to have proper library and science laboratory for the students, officials in Peshawar University administration conformed.
“Yes, we have not yet applied for affiliation of those colleges with their respective secondary boards and universities. But we will apply for it shortly,” FEF administrator Dr Mujeeb said.
“NWFP governor Iftikhar Hussain Shah is chancellor of the two public sector universities and the patron-in-chief of the FEF, but none of these colleges applied for their affiliation with the concerned bodies,” sources told Dawn here on Tuesday.
All these colleges are short of basic requirements, including science labs, libraries and playgrounds. Some of them are housed either in rental buildings or structures owned by other departments, sources added.
The FEF decision-makers, they alleged, were not educationists instead they had got ad hoc appointments. The FEF hierarchy had no workable plans for the promotion of education in the province in true sense, they claimed.
The FEF has established seven colleges this year and has been given a task by NWFP Governor Iftikhar Hussain Shah to set up nine more colleges by June next year.
Last year, the government had boasted about its educational plans and established all science colleges. The government was opposed to humanities subjects for reasons unknown.
All the FEF senior staff was working on contractual basis for two years. The lack of incentives have made them alien towards the long-term future planning of education.
Sources alleged that the FEF authorities had appointed inexperienced teaching staff in the colleges. “The FEF administration conducted the test but changed the results in favour of some favourite candidates,” they alleged, and added: “If the examination results are checked the merit claim of the FEF high-ups will be exposed as marks given by the examiner on papers are different than those shown on the merit list.”
But the FEF administrator clarified that despite conducting a written test, interview was the major criterion of selection.
Sources maintained that there were no professional accountants in any of the FEF girls colleges. “All are young under-graduates, who are unable to mange their respective colleges’ accounts.”
The sources in the FEF said many colleges’ principals had demanded of the FEF high-ups to appoint professional male accountants as the girls were unable to go outside the institute for fieldwork.
“Some of the accountants have left the job due to family reasons, making the account affairs of these colleges even more difficult for the new accountants,” they added.
Official sources conformed there were no hostel wardens for the girls colleges at Haripur, Kohat and Bannu. The principals of these colleges request the teaching staff to stay for a night in rotation.
Admitting the fact, the FEF administrator, said presently there were no vacancies of wardens and vice principals in the colleges, but pledged to send a request to the governor for filling these vacancies.