Anomalies found in girls college admissions

Islamabad: The Islamabad Model College for Girls, I-8/4, is understood to have unduly favoured over four dozen children for admission to grades I to VIII.

Under the admission policy of the Federal Directorate of Education, the government schools and colleges it regulates in the Islamabad Capital Territory are bound to offer admission to the candidates on the basis of their scores in the written test.

However, I-8/4 IMCG Principal Tasneem Sher Muhammad has blatantly flouted that policy by enrolling eight students in grade I, seven in grade II and III each, three in grade IV, eight in V, 14 in VI and seven in VII and VIII without test, sources told ‘The News’.

The sources insisted that those students were the children of the politically well-connected people. Last week, principal Tasneem got the additional charge of the F-6/2 IMCG’s principal after the incumbent, Aalia Durrani, was removed by the Federal Directorate of Education, which oversees the public sector schools and colleges in Islamabad, reportedly for refusing to bypass the admission policy to enrol the children of the people with strong links in the current political dispensation.

Sources said Aalia Durrani was warned by the influential people of ‘dire consequences’ over admission denial but she didn’t succumb to the pressure and held written test for admission to various classes and made a merit list on the basis of its results and thus, losing the top post of the F-6/2 IMCG.

They said Tasneem Sher Muhammad was later given the additional charge of the college’s principal to ‘do the needful’. The sources claimed that during a stint in the ICG as principal, Tasneem had enrolled hundreds of students ignoring the merit list.

The teachers decried the removal of Aalia Durrani and said the FDE move was a message for other honest officers and principals to act as desired by their ‘corrupt’ bosses. “There is zero tolerance for honesty in the FDE. Favouritism is rampant when it comes to enrolments in the Islamabad model colleges,” a college teacher said.

He claimed that opportunists had hijacked the entire model colleges setup showing a high level of favouritism and thus, depriving the genuine and deserving children of admissions. “The parents have been pushed from pillar to post for the enrolment of their wards, but to no avail,” he said.

Another teacher representing the junior section of the F-6 IMCG claimed that Aalia Durrani was known for honest and professional dealings, especially denial of undue favours to political elites.

“We, all teachers, have been genuinely shocked by the way the principal has been removed. The FDE’s unwarranted move has demoralised senior principals, especially those who believe in rule of merit and act accordingly,” she said.

A senior teacher of the I-8/4 IMCG said the model colleges were once famous for adherence to principles and rules and grant of admissions on merit only. She however, said things had changed altogether over a period of time with the model colleges becoming synonymous with unlawful admissions.

“Today, the authorities do not care about merit in model colleges,” she said, adding that the parents, too, have realised that securing admissions in these educational institutions is a tall order without the blessings of influential people. A representative of the Federal Government College Teachers Association called for fairness and transparency in college admissions.

“The children deserve admission on the basis of knowledge, abilities and intelligence in a fair manner. Formulating rules for a fair and transparent enrolment process is very simple but enforcing them in letter and spirit is a challenging task, which the FDE has failed to do,” he said.

When contacted, a relevant FDE official denied the removal of Aalia Durrani over the admission issue and insisted that the former F-6/2 IMCG principal had been asked to report to the directorate for new posting after some administrative issues were reported in the college. He also said the directorate ensured the admission to all model schools and colleges in strict compliance with the rules and that it had found no irregularities in that respect.