Despite clear directives by the prime minister, the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) has yet to appoint a permanent director general to the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), a BPS-20 post which has been lying vacant since December 10, 2016, when Dr Shahnaz Anjum Riaz retired.
An anonymous CADD official told Pakistan Today that the government seemed in no mood to appoint a permanent DG despite having several BPS-19 officials who could be promoted to the post. “There are three contenders serving in the FDE who are vying for the post: Tanweer Ahmad, Taj Muhammad Bhatti, and Zulfiqar Ali Rao,” the source said.
According to the source, CADD Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry wants to handpick the director general in order to ensure execution of the PM’s education reforms in the capital. However, he seems reluctant to appoint any one of the existing candidates and will probably appoint a DG through direct induction.
“CADD Joint Secretary Ayesha Farooq has been temporarily given the charge of DG due to a clash regarding the seniority of the three existing candidates,” the source said. “This provided an excuse to the CADD minister to delay the appointment.”
According to the civil servants’ appointments rules 1973, selection for the slot of the DG was meant to be only through promotion. It adds that directors at BPS-19 posts and principals of a degree college in the same grade with 17 years of teaching experience are eligible for the post.
The official said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had already rejected a summary sent to him by the CADD ministry for the temporary appointment of a senior official as the DG and directed the ministry to fill the post with a permanent appointment. One of the three in-house candidates has also raised the issue in court, seeking a promotion to the post.
Talking to Pakistan Today, CADD spokesperson Attiqur Rehman said that there was no hurdle in the appointment of a permanent DG, but the ministry was looking for an appropriate candidate for the slot. “Someone with administrative expertise as well as adequate knowledge of educational affairs,” the spokesperson said.
Besides, he said that a permanent appointment could not be made because of a clash of seniority claim among the contenders. As there is no clarity in seniority, no one name among the three top officials has been proposed by the ministry for the post.