ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Federal Education is not able to arrange funds to pay daily-wage teachers working at educational institutions in the capital, the ministry told a parliamentary body on Monday.

A subcommittee of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Education, which met at the ministry for a meeting with MNA Ali Nawaz Awan as its convenor, discussed various issues related to the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) and the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (Peira).

While the subcommittee was on the topic of the FDE, it was informed by ministry officials that the ministry needs around Rs320 million to pay daily-wage FDE employees. On directions from the education secretary, the ministry arranged Rs220m by imposing cuts on various heads but still requires Rs100m more.

There are more than 1,500 teaching and non-teaching FDE daily-wage employees who have been working at schools and colleges for years.

NA subcommittee briefed on issues facing FDE, Peira

The subcommittee said the fate of daily-wage workers should be decided quickly.Mr Awanasked the ministry about the high-powered committee formed by the cabinet to decide the fate of non-gazetted daily-wage employees of various ministries.

FDE officials said the subcommittee is collecting information from government departments, including the directorate, to resolve this issue.

The parliamentarians also told ministry officials that the fate of Basic Education Community Schools (BECS) and the National Commission of Human Development (NCHD) needs to be decided.

The subcommittee was informed that BECS and NCHD-run schools should have been devolved to the provinces after the 18th Amendment but no decision has been taken in this regard so far.

Draft rules have been sent to the Ministry of Finance for approval to appoint a regular FDE director general, the subcommittee was told.

In the draft rules, the FDE has abolished the grade 20 post of director general and upgraded it to grade 21 with changes in the appointment criteria. Where a senior director or senior principal of colleges was supposed to be appointed director general, under the proposed rules a grade 21 officer would be brought on a contract, deputation or transfer basis, which means a principal cannot be appointed to run the directorate’s affairs.

Two new posts of deputy director general in grade 20 have been created, which could be filled by a senior director and area education officer.

The FDE is an umbrella organisation that looks after the affairs of 423 schools and colleges in Islamabad. It has been running on an ad hoc basis since December 2016. Mr Awan directed the FDE to resolve all its chronic issues, such as the appointment of regular director general, daily-wage employees, wedlock and deputation policy and so on.

While discussing Peira, subcommittee member Sadaqat Abbasi said that in the future, plots for private schools should be disposed of with the involvement of the education ministry. He said the Capital Development Authority (CDA) was supposed to carve out and develop the plots for private schools and after that it is the responsibility of education ministry to make a transparent policy for their allotment.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2020