The librarian cadre in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) colleges is facing a significant dearth of career advancement opportunities and promotions.
According to the details, the college librarians, appointed in BPS-17, find themselves trapped in this grade for their entire government service, retiring without any upward mobility despite serving the department diligently for over three decades.
This unfortunate situation has left many librarians disheartened and discouraged.
On the other hand, the school librarian cadre has witnessed significant improvements in recent years. Sub-librarians of BPS-15 were elevated to the position of Assistant Librarian in BPS-16 on December 23, 2010. Shortly after, on January 1, 2011, they received another promotion to the coveted rank of librarian in BPS-17.
Adding to the disparity, they were once again fortunate to receive a time-scale promotion to BPS-18 after a period of five years on January 1, 2016.
Unlike their teaching counterparts who can climb the career ladder up to BPS-20, college librarians feel neglected by the failure of the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) to implement a similar system for their profession.
The teaching staff in colleges follows a well-defined 4-tier promotion formula, while the librarian cadre remains trapped in a dead-end BPS-17 position throughout their government service.
The glaring contrast in the treatment of college librarians between the capital city and the provinces is also a cause for concern. In Punjab, there exists a four-tier promotion formula for college librarians, allowing them to progress up to BPS-20 as Chief Librarian.
Similarly, in Sindh, librarians can be promoted up to BPS-19, while other provinces such as Balochistan and KPK also have well-defined promotion channels for the librarian cadre. Even in Azad Kashmir, librarians enjoy a proper channel of promotion.
Regrettably, the capital city’s librarians are denied such prospects, leading to a glaring disparity and discrimination in terms of career advancement.
Prominent examples of career stagnation of college librarians include Ms. Nighat Rana and Ms. Safia, former librarians at Islamabad Model College for Girls (Postgraduate) G-10/4 and F-7/2, respectively, who retired in 2017 in the same grade. Another librarian, Mr. Azeem Khan Marwat retired in 2023 after tirelessly waiting for a promotion that never materialized.
Similarly, Mr. Shah Wali, a former librarian at Commerce College H-8/4, and Ahmed Mubeen Raza, the former librarian of H-9 College, served their respective departments for decades without receiving any promotions due to the dead-end cadre. This situation stands in stark contrast to the provinces where proper channels for promotion and career growth exist for college librarians.
A college librarian, speaking on the condition of anonymity, expressed his frustration, told APP, “The discrimination in treatment between college and school librarians has raised questions about the lack of attention given by the FDE authorities to the improvement of the service structure for college librarians. Despite possessing higher qualifications and expertise compared to the school librarians, we are not treated fairly. The absence of career growth opportunities has left librarians disillusioned, especially considering their expertise and dedication to their profession. The issues of college librarians cannot be resolved without visionary leadership at the helm of the education department.”
Another librarian told this scribe, “Despite repeated pleas and grievances, the FDE and the concerned Ministry responsible for overseeing the welfare and development of its employees have failed to address this pressing issue of college librarians. The lack of initiative in devising a promotion channel for librarians has exacerbated the frustration within the college librarian community.”
He urged the Education Minister to acknowledge the valuable contributions made by these professionals and take immediate steps to rectify the existing disparities in career advancement and promotion by devising a proper promotion channel for them.
