Seniors ignored, juniors head many model colleges

Islamabad : The Federal Directorate of Education is understood to have posted junior teachers at many of its model colleges in the capital city as principals and vice principals in violation of the seniority criterion.

Feeling disgruntled with the relevant FDE officials for ignoring them, the senior teachers insist the undue elevation of juniors to top administrative posts undermines the overall performance of educational institutions.

They claim they’re subjected to discrimination for being in bad books of their bosses in the directorate regulating the city’s public sector educational institutions.

A relevant FDE official told ‘The News’ that the principal of the largest model college should be the senior most professor in the city, while the other colleges should have principals in light of the stature and seniority of staff members.

On the contrary, Dr Ali Ahmad Kharal, the senior most professor in FDE colleges (BPS-20), has been posted to a small college i.e. Islamabad Model College for Boys I-10/1 though he should head the city’s largest college i.e. IMCB G-6/3.

Similarly, senior professors, including Hafiz Shakeel Khan and Inamullah Waqar, are working as principals in smaller colleges but their juniors, including Yasin Afaqi and Munim Zahid, occupy top positions in larger colleges i.e. IMCB F-8/4 and IMCB F-10/3 respectively. Also, Professor Nasim Murtaza, a BS-20 officer, should head the Islamabad College for Girls F-6/2 in line with the seniority criterion but Professor Tasneem of BPS-19 is occupying the principal’s post.

Violation of the seniority criterion is also reported in the appointment of vice principals. Moreover, junior sections of model colleges have BPS-17 teachers as headmistresses in the presence of BPS-18 teachers. There are also reports of transfer and posting of principals as punishment to the frustration of the city’s teaching community.

One such case is Farkhanda Ishtiaq, the principal of the Islamabad Model College for Girls, I-8/3, who was recently transferred to the far-off IMCG, Humak, for not being highly thought of by the relevant FDE officials.

Earlier, Nusrat Zia, a BPS-20 professor and the former principal of the IMCG Humak, was discriminated against by being made to work on a BPS-19 position. She was pushed from pillar to post to ‘claim’ her right, but to no avail and after suffering emotional setbacks caused by the discrimination, she passed away soon after retirement last month. According to senior teachers, the favouritism-based transfers and postings of model college principals by the FDE adversely impact on the cause of education in the city. Blaming it largely on the mismanagement of human resources, they insisted discrimination dispirits them and thus, decreasing their productivity. “The seniors who are discriminated against experience anxiety, depression and stress with the students too having its brunt. When discrimination is widespread, morale drops, trust is broken and ultimately, the educational institution’s overall efficiency is badly affected. When an employee is discriminated against, he often feels helpless and anxiety-ridden, and may suddenly lack interest in doing duty, advancing career and working for the respective institution’s welfare,” a teacher felt.

A woman teacher said discrimination was not an isolated event. “The discriminatory attitude towards seniors has physical and emotional consequences on other teachers, too. Besides demoralising the affected teachers, it causes ripple effects as well,” she said.

The teacher said the way the FDE officials favoured their blue-eyed juniors in model colleges by throwing to winds the transfer and posting rules, it would do a disservice to the education system.

“This nepotism-based system cannot be done away with until the top FDE appointments are made against merit to the discrimination of qualified and experienced educationists,” she said. An office-bearer of the Federal Government College Teachers Association said the FDE could address the grievances of such senior teachers by following the recent recommendation of the Central Selection Board to post five associate professors to the posts of professors (BPS-20). He pushed the directorate to immediately revoke all model college transfers and postings made on the basis of favouritism.