FBISE chief likely to get another term extension

Islamabad : Instead of filling the top Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education post by one of the country’s top educationists or its senior officers, the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training has planned another extension in the term of the incumbent FBISE chairman, Dr Ikram Ali Malik.

Dr Ikram’s term in office was extended for two years in March 2017 when his three years contract expired.

Then an associate professor at the Economics Department of the Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, he had landed the job in March 2014 after the prime minister rejected the two other nominees of the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, including the current joint education advisor of the education ministry, Muhammad Rafique Tahir, and acting director general of Federal Directorate of Education Prof Ali Ahmad Kharal.

An insider told ‘The News’ that the education ministry with the approval of its minister, Shafqat Mehmood, had planned to send the prime minister’s office a summary seeking the extension of the incumbent FBISE chairman’s term in office for one year.

He said there was a high likelihood of the summary winning the premier’s consent.

The FBISE, an autonomous body of the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, is tasked with recommending curriculum, appointing examiners and supervisory staff to conduct examinations, and ensuring required physical and human resources of the affiliated secondary and higher secondary schools and colleges.