Will Dr Shahnaz be ‘toothless’ on return to FDE?

Islamabad

Many at the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) and the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD), which oversees it, believe Dr. Shahnaz Anjum Riaz will be largely powerless on return to the FDE as BPS-20 top boss at the Supreme Court’s intervention, especially in view of the imminent appointment of the BPS-21 executive director to the directorate.

They insist the CADD has reappointed Dr. Shahnaz as the FDE chief ‘under compulsion’ seeing her repeatedly get her removal from the directorate and the appointment of successors reversed by the apex court on one plea or the other.

Such officials say now, the division wants to keep Dr. Shahnaz posted to the position unenthusiastically though until she retires from the government service later in the year to save itself from ‘further embarrassment’. 

“When Dr. Shahnaz was restored as the FDE DG on the court’s orders in the past, most of her powers actually rested with CADD additional secretary Qaiser Majeed Malik to her misery and frustration. Now, as the appointment of an executive director to the directorate is at hand, things will be no different for her. She was toothless in the past by and large and will remain so this time around, too, to the best of my assessment,” said an official in the know.

Nevertheless, Dr Shahnaz disagrees.

“After meeting the new (CADD) secretary sahib of late, I can firmly tell you I’ll be free to exercise all my powers. I won’t be as toothless as the people think,” she said confidently.

The FDE chief said she didn’t know about the imminent appointment of the executive director to the directorate but even if that happened, she would cooperate with him/her to the full to the improvement of public sector educational institutions in the capital city.

While approving the creation of the FDE executive director’s post on the CADD recommendation on March 15, the prime minister had directed the minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry-led division to ensure that the recruitment rules provide complete flexibility to the government for the appointment to the BPS-21 position and thus, ensuring the smooth execution of Islamabad’s education reforms programme watched over by his daughter, Maryam Nawaz.

“The induction can be made, either of an outstanding civil servant of appropriate expertise or an educational professional from the open market who can lead the implementation of reform process on ground under overall guidance of the Minister and Advisor on Education in CADD who is being recruited separately,” a statement issued by the PM's Office said.

Though the prime minister had also ordered the finalisation of recruitment rules within 30 days in due consultations with all other stakeholders, there is no official update on it.

Another CADD official insisted everything happening on Islamabad’s public sector education front from the top FDE appointments to the launch of Montessori classes at government schools to the upgradation of educational institutions had Maryam Nawaz’s blessing.

He said the imminent appointment of a handpicked ED to the directorate was meant to bypass the ‘inefficient’ Dr Shahnaz for smooth education reforms in the city.

Dr. Shahnaz has reclaimed the BPS-20 post for the third time at the Supreme Court intervention.

She had gotten her ‘sudden, unwarranted’ removal from the FDE reversed by the court first in April 2015 and then in May 2001.

The FDE has seen the change of over a dozen director generals over the last five years adversely affecting its performance, especially the management of more than 400 government schools and colleges in the capital city.