Zubair Qureshi
Teachers and the staff of the Federal Directorate of Education have shown strong reservations to the federal government’s plan of placing school education in Islamabad under the administrative control of elected mayor (yet to be elected).
The teaching and the non-teaching staff in a statement on Saturday said they would fight the the move tooth and nail.
On the other hand, Ministry of Federal Education has shown its support to the ordinance and Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood talking to media, said his ministry would supervise college and higher education.
He said placing school education under the mayor was a good decision.
“Elected mayor, who will get vote of public, should have the right to say in school education affairs and I support this move.
As far as college and university education, the ministry of education would supervise it,” the minister said, adding the ministry will play a guiding role for the local government.
The teaching and non-teaching staff of schools have formed an action committee and decided that from Tuesday they would start boycotting classes against the decision, saying placing education under the local government was an anti-education decision.
The local government will be responsible for management of primary, elementary and secondary education facilities.
Meanwhile before the ordinance, the ministry of education decided to place all the 33 colleges in Islamabad under the administrative control of the Federal College of Education, H-9, which is a subordinate organisation of the ministry.
FDE Joint Action Committee has in a statement made it clear it will not allow ‘politicizng’ of the educational institutions by putting schools under Mayor’s administrative control.
“We have decided to wear black armbands against this decision and will not allow any move to end the “civil servant” identity of the federal government’s employees, said a senior staff member of the FDE requesting not to be quoted.
The associations of schoolteachers, their action committee headed by Fazal-i-Mola in a statement said the committee will start an awareness campaign in all educational institutions and from Tuesday they will start boycotting classes.
Schoolteachers Association President Malik Ameer Khan said a protest rally would also be organised.
“We will not accept this act. Educational institutions should remain part of the education ministry,” he said.
President of the teachers of Federal Government Colleges has welcomed this move.
According to President College Teachers Association Dr Rahima Rehman it was their longstanding demand that the higher education setup of ICT colleges should be administered by the federal ministry without any involvement of the FDE.
The local government ended in February this year and the government was supposed to hold new elections within 120 days.
