ISLAMABAD: On Wednesday, representatives of teaching and non-teaching staff, including principals’ associations, held a meeting with Education Minister Rana Tanveer to express their opposition to the transfer of government land to a commercial firm for the establishment of a private institution.
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) had previously allocated 21 kanal of land in F-11/2 for the construction of a government school, with an estimated value of over Rs. 20 billion.
In response to the concerns raised by the delegation, the education minister intervened and put a halt to the planned memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony between the private firm and the education ministry.
During the same incident, an official from the education ministry, who was expected to attend the ceremony, was removed from his position by Federal Education Secretary Waseem Ajmal Chaudhry.
FDE Officials Face Controversy Over Land Transfer
Several officials have claimed that FDE Acting Deputy Director General Dr. Ali Ahmed Kharal was instructed to attend the ceremony, but he did not comply and was subsequently removed from his position later in the evening.
Additionally, FDE Director General Dr. Ikram Ali Malik is currently on sick leave, and there are rumors that the education secretary has prepared a summary recommending his removal as well.
The proposed replacement for the FDE DG is said to be the ministry’s joint secretary, Amjad Ahmed. However, there is no official confirmation regarding this development.
The controversy centers around the ministry’s plan to transfer 21 kanal of land to a private firm for the establishment of a school under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
According to the proposal, the private firm will run the school for 20 years and will be allowed to charge fees to 80% of the students, while the remaining 20% will receive free education.
Opposition to the project arose when media and teaching associations pointed out that the land was originally designated for a public school providing free education.
The education minister had taken notice of the issue and requested a report on the matter.
Education Secretary Waseem Ajmal Chaudhry clarified that the removal of the acting deputy director general was unrelated to the school project and cited procedural issues regarding the temporary charge given to the DDG.
Regarding the alleged summary for the removal of FDE DG Dr. Ikram Malik, the secretary declined to comment.
The education secretary defended the ministry’s stance, stating that the entire process of engaging the private sector in education through the construction of the private school on government land was transparent.
Besides, he also emphasized that the project is still under consideration, and consultations are ongoing to finalize the terms and conditions of the MOU.
Source: DAWN
Comments
Comments are closed.
Nice Information