FDE chief faces axe as ministry moves summary

Islamabad: The top boss at the regulator for Islamabad's government schools and colleges is on his way out as the education ministry has recommended his immediate removal to the prime minister over "utter failure" to deliver the goods.

In a summary sent to the PM Office after approval by his minister Rana Tanveer Hussain, federal education secretary Ajmal Chaudhary insisted that the overall performance of Dr. Ikram Ali Malik as the director general of the Federal Directorate of Education had been highly unsatisfactory since his appointment to the BPS-21 position in October 2020 for three years and therefore, his deputation to the federal government as a Punjab government employee should be immediately withdrawn. He also sought the go-ahead for the ministry's joint secretary, Amjad Ahmad (BPS-20), to fill Dr. Ikram's shoes for three months as an additional responsibility.

Ministry officials claim there is a high likelihood of the summary winning the consent of the prime minister ahead of the expiry of his term in office on August 12.

Dr. Ikram landed the BPS-21 FDE job on Oct 27, 2020, after heading the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education for seven years running.

An associate professor at the Economics Department of the Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, the well-connected quinquagenarian got to the FBISE in March 2014 for three years, but his stint lasted longer as the then prime minister, on the recommendation of the education ministry, extended his employment contract term first for two years and then for another year. Currently, he is off work these days on sick leave, according to officials.

In the summary for the FDE chief's removal, the education secretary claimed that Dr. Ikram had no school or college experience but even then, the last federal government tasked him with watching over Islamabad’s over 400 public sector educational institutions. He accused the directorate's head of committing several administrative irregularities.

"Dr. Ikram Ali nominated Asif Iqbal Khan, Deputy Director General (BPS-20), for promotional training of civil servants for the National Security War Course without having any post for promotion under the FDE's service rules. The nomination not only caused loss to the government exchequer but also deprived a deserving ex-cadre officer of the chance to get the promotion," the secretary claimed. He also insisted that the FDE chief had been avoiding his duties and had not been available in his office and on the phone for almost 10 days over "lame excuses" adversely affecting matters at the directorate as well as "a lot of critically important projects that could be seriously jeopardised by delayed decisions."

The secretary pointed out that Dr. Ikram also violated the rules by giving the charge of the deputy DG's office to an official without obtaining its mandatory approval from the ministry. "His [Dr. Ikram's] overall performance remained highly unsatisfactory during the years he served in the FDE and therefore, it is proposed that his deputation period as the FDE DG be terminated with immediate effect and joint secretary (BPS-20) Amjad Ahmad be allowed to get an additional charge of the DG post [BPS-21] for a period of three months," he wrote in the summary.

The secretary claimed that education minister Rana Tanveer Hussain had seen the summary before allowing him to put it up to the Prime Minister's Office for the mandatory nod.

Officials told 'The News' that though the summary's approval was awaited, there was absolutely no chance of the prime minister turning it down as it had got the blessing of the education minister, a senior member of his party PML-N. They said the education secretary had fallen out with the FDE chief over the latter's opposition to the proposed handover of a large plot in the upscale F-11 sector to a private organisation for putting up a school and operating it for two decades with free education for 20 percent of the students.

The officials claimed that the education minister had blocked that initiative of "public-private partnership" after Islamabad's college teachers and principals conveyed their strong reservations about it to him during a meeting. They feared that things could lead to litigation.