Deputation staffers see no hope of bright future at FDE

I have joined federal education in 2010 on deputation as teacher with a hope but all dashed to the ground when Federal Directorate of Education’s (FDE) authorities started treating us as “stepmother,” said a teacher. According to her, she had been transferred from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on deputation basis as while finding no other option she got married with a person who was working in a private company based in Islamabad. She desperately told Daily Times on condition of anonymity that despite providing our best services, we have been treated discriminately within FDE. Now after 11 years of service, the FDE started repatriation of staffers to their parent departments instead of giving due right of absorption, she added. With an obligation that my husband was doing job here at a private company, I have had no choice but to get transferred in the federal capital as being my legal right as well. “Since then, I have been passionately working in different educational institutions of the FDE,” she recalled adding that when many years have been passed we pinned the hope to get permanent absorption at our current work places. “Many of us also managed to obtain No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from their respective parent department but unfortunately curt authorities in the directorate are not willing to precede them,” she added. As per available information, as many as 300 teachers, mostly females, of various cadres had been taken by FDE on deputation in various phases from different parts of the country for its schools and colleges. Many of them are working under the Wedlock Policy. According to letter, Cabinet Secretariat Establishment Division had notified the employees’ wedlock policy in 1998 in order to keep socio-economic problems and hardships faced by husbands and wives due to posting of their services at different stations of duty. The policy would have been amended time to time. As per policy, when the request is made for posting at different stations in the same cadre/service/department in which an employee is already working, subject to the availability of post in the same Basic Pay Scale, the request may be accepted. While If a request is made for temporary deputation to the other department, it may be processed with the consultation of the other department and it may be accepted on the standard terms and conditions of deputation and subject to the availability of the post in the same Basic Pay Scale. The policy further stated that when a request is made for permanent transfer to/absorption in another department/agency, the request may be processed in consultation with the department concerned, subject to the condition that in the event of permanent transfer, seniority shall be determined in accordance with Rule-4 of the Civil Servants (Seniority) Rules, 1993. Interestingly, different competent forums including Parliament, superior courts also given the decision in favor of these deputationists. Not only this, authorities of the directorate had been recommend for absorption of such employees as it was also necessary to fill the vacant teaching positions in its institutions but still in vain. As per a judgment, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has granted interim relief to such employees of FDE under order W.P. No. 186/2021. A couple of months back, the National Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf also issued a ruling, directing the Ministry of Education and FDE to resolve issues of teachers working in the capital under wedlock policy. “A summary for the Prime Minister was moved on March 8, 2013 for absorption of Teaching Staff of FDE working on deputation basis under Wedlock Policy and completed 5 years of deputation which was approved on subsequently when I was the Prime Minister. Since then several employees absorbed while around 253 such employees of FDE have not been absorbed till date resulting in discontent amongst these employees,” the ruling read. It said “the concerned ministry is, therefore, directed to resolve the issue immediately and all such employees of FDE be absorbed w.e.f 8-3-2013 and one-time blanket relaxation of all rules be given to cover variant scales and cadres with all benefits retrospectively.” The ruing further stated that an amendment was made to the Civil Servants (Appointments, Promotions, and Transfer) Rules, 1973 on April 16, 2012 to facilitate deputationists under the FDE, which said condition of five-year maximum period of deputation would not be applicable on deputationists under wedlock policy Moreover, the then Director Schools Saqib Shahab on April 02, 2018 recommended to the secretary education ministry that “rule 20-A of Civil Servants (APT) Rules, 1973, exempts a specific group of employees (including teachers in the education institutions under the FDE) whose services are borrowed under the wedlock policy after completion of five-years term”. They (deputation staffers) , by implications of such exemption from rule 20-A, can continue staying in the borrowing department for an unspecified period of time provided their parent departments consent to their stay by providing by providing NOCs on yearly basis, letter reads. In 2015, former Director schools Farida Yasmin vide letter number (F.9-14/2015/FDE, 20-05-2015) had also recommended to the education ministry to permanently absorb the deputationist teachers MT (BS-09), EST (BS-14) and TUGT (BS-14) in the FDE after their completion of five-year term and who fall under the wedlock policy and be exempted from repatriation under rule 20-A . While pushing back all these orders, the FDE authorities had started process of repatriation of such employees to their parent departments. Over 30 deputationist teachers, as per sources, have been repatriated so for to their parent departments. When Daily Times tried to ask DG FDE Dr Ikram Malik regarding this issue, he denied speaking over the matter.