The former directors of the Federal College of Education (FCE) have voiced their serious concerns regarding the decision to shift the administrative control of the institution to Federal Directorate of Education (FDE). In a resolution passed during a meeting held here yesterday, they expressed their apprehensions and wrote a letter to the Minister of Federal Education & Professional Training, highlighting the potential detrimental effects of this decision on teacher education in the country.
It is important to mention here that the administrative control of FCE was handed over to FDE on March 1, 2023. The former directors, including Professor Rashada Fatima, ShafiaHanif, Dr.JamilBajwa, Mrs.RanaSarfrazAlam, Muhammad Imtiaz Khan, and Professor TalatKhurshed, strongly opposed the decision to transfer administrative control from the Ministry of Federal Education to the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE).
They argued that such a move would undermine the significant contributions and achievements of the FCE, which had played a pivotal role in the field of teacher training for over 50 years. According to the former directors, placing the FCE under the FDE would disrupt the institutions longstanding efforts in professional teacher training.
They argue that the FDE, which primarily oversees the affairs of schools and colleges, lacks the necessary expertise and experience to effectively run a high-profile institution like FCE, which focuses on higher education and teacher training.
The directors highlight the fact that the FCE was established in accordance with the National Education Policy of 1972. The primary objective of FCE was to address the shortage of science teachers in the country. Over the years, FCE has successfully provided comprehensive training to thousands of teachers across various disciplines. In addition, it has trained 6000 teachers and 600 head teachers of the FDE. One of the crucial points raised by the former directors is the specialized qualifications held by the FCE staff. They indicated that the staff of FCE possessed degrees in pedagogy skills, in addition to their subject degrees, making them uniquely qualified to provide effective training to teachers. Mixing this college with the schools under the FDEs jurisdiction would be detrimental to the institutions mission and the field of teacher education as a whole. The former directors firmly believe that the decision to hand over administrative control to the FDE should be reversed, as it could undermine the decades of progress and efforts made by FCE.
