Islamabad’s Girls Colleges Deprived Of Staff, Budget For 2nd Consecutive Year

APP

Islamabad: Islamabad Model College for Girls (IMCG) I-8/3 and IMCG I-14/3 are in dire need of assistance as they begin their second straight fiscal year without a recurrent budget.

The colleges have been in operation for a decade but they have only received a small financial allocation for operational costs, making it difficult for them to offer a high-quality education.

According to sources who insisted on anonymity, IMCG I-8/3, which commenced operations in 2009, and IMCG I-14/3, which started functioning in 2012, have failed to secure a recurring budget for the colleges.

The Finance Division sanctioned 40 teaching and 32 non-teaching posts for IMCG I-14/3 and 32 teaching and 32 non-teaching posts for IMCG I-8/3, but no funds were allocated for the staff salaries. As a result, both colleges are operating without their regular staff members and are dependent on a small number of instructors and non-teaching staff members who have borrowed from other girls’ colleges under duress.

However, this short-term solution has increased pressure on the colleges that provided the borrowed employees, worsening workforce shortages in those organisations as well as further deteriorating the quality of education provided.

Ultimately, the absence of properly qualified and devoted teaching and administrative staff at these colleges has a severe impact on the education of students.

However, the loaned staff still receives their wages from their own colleges, making it difficult to handle little things like account issues and routine paperwork.

It takes more time and money for the teachers and non-teaching staff to go to their parent colleges, which has an adverse effect on their productivity and the student’s education.

Furthermore, the colleges, such as IMCG G-10/4 and IMCG F-7/4, are also suffering from a shortage of teachers. An anonymous non-teaching staff member, compelled to work at one of the affected colleges, expressed his frustration, stating, “This year, once again, we are left without a budget. We receive our salaries from our parent colleges because this college has no allocated funds.”

We are constantly burdened with the need to approach our parent colleges for even minor issues regarding our pay, house hiring, and loans, a staff member added.

The administration of the Federal Directorate of Education, responsible for addressing these issues, has displayed an alarming lack of concern and initiative, allowing the colleges to suffer. There seems to be no vision or effort to resolve the teachers’ issues.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a teacher further said that the education minister must demonstrate his commitment to education by rectifying this negligence of authorities and ensuring a prosperous learning environment for students and teachers alike.