ISLAMABAD: It has been over four years since the then prime minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, approved a uniform education system for the federal capit al, upgrading all schools and colleges to match standards at model institutions.

Following the announcement, Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) had changed nomenclatures of all educational institutions, giving them all new names including model colleges and schools.

However, so far no efforts have been made to make the educational system uniform and even today there are separate directors who look after the affairs of model colleges and schools and Federal Government (F.G.) schools and colleges.

There are 400 old F.G. and 20 model institutions. The model institutions appear to be performing relatively better and almost have therequired teaching and non-teaching staf f as well astransportforstudents.

However, the old F.G. setup awaits the attention of authorities as there is a shortage of facilities and staff.

`In our school, there are around 18 posts for teaching and non-teaching staff that have been vacant for a long time. There are no permanent teachers for English, Mathematics and Science.

Our school does not even have a janitor, every morning students have to sweep the school, said Abdul Razaq, Islamabad Model School for Girls, Gokina, management committee member.

Dozens of students from this school recently staged a protest in front of the FDE building against, what they termed, a `step-motherly` treatment of their school by the directorate.

Sources at the FDE said currently over 1,000 teaching vacancies in F.G. schools are vacant.

Schools located in the rural areas of the federal capital, face huge shortage of teachers as teachers prefer to live in urban areas.

`Usually the more disadvantaged students study at the F.G. colleges and schools. It is unfortunate that despite the prime minister`s directive, our institutions are not at par with model institutions. For the last four years, provision of modern facilities at our institutions is being delayed,` said Professor Sagheer Ahmed Mirani, F.G. College-Teacher Association presi-dent.

`If they cannot provide us with the same facilities as model institutions, our old name of F.G.

college/schools should be given back to us,` he said He added that the discriminatory attitude of senior officials can be gauged from the fact that at least three colleges like Model College Sihala and I-8 are running without sanctioned staff.

Speaking to Dawn, a former FDE director general said in light of the prime minister`s directive, there was a plan to upgrade F.G.

schools in two phases.

In the first phase, 150 schools were supposed to be upgraded, however, the plan could not materialise.

`I agree, schools in rural areas are being neglected,` he said The official spokesman for FDE said the previous government, which initiated this project, was supposed to implement it but unfortunately, nothing was done in this regard.

The spokesman claimed that State Minister for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Barrister Usman Ibrahim was taking various initiatives for ensuring a uniform education system in the federal capital.

He said in the coming days, all schools will be provided with required staff and various steps will be taken to upgrade schools.