PESHAWAR, Nov 6: The standard of Pakistan Forest Institute Peshawar, the country`s top ranking teaching institute in the field of conservation of natural resources and protection of environment, is on decline owing to acute shortage of teachers and researches, according to officials.

`Once Pakistan Forest Institute (PFI) was considered as the most prestigious institute, but now its standard has fallen and can further dwindle if the provincial government doesn`t end the prevalent status quo,` said a senior academician in the institute.

The office of the director general of PFI has been lying vacant since 2011 and provincial secretary environment has been given additional charge of the office.

Presently, the institute has 200 students and over 400 employees.

Foreign students from Africa and Asia haven`t been getting admission in PFI since escalation in acts of militancy and terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.EnvironmentSecretary Mohammad Shahrukh Arbab, who has been given additional charge of director general of PFI, has to look after four departments including environment, forestry, wildlife and fishery.

The institute couldn`t find a permanent director general from year 2000 to 2008 and the post was run on ad hoc basis.

Later, Syed Said Badshah Bukhari, an officer of district management group, was designated as permanent director general of PFI in 2009. Mr Bukhari was posted as secretary environment in 2011 and he had to keep additional charge of the PFI director general as well.

`The PFI was holding ground when Mr Bukhari became its permanent director general in 2009,` said an official, adding but he was given the charge of provincial secretary environment in 2011 so it was not possible for an officer to look after both the offices at the same time.

Another reason for the declining standard of PFI, officials told Dawn, was that 150 posts of the teachers andresearchers had been lying vacant for so many years.

They said that shortage of staff affected badly teaching and research activities in the institute.

Like other departments and organisations, PFI was also devolved after the passage of 18th Amendment and attached with the environment department. Being in-charge of PFI, Provincial Minister for Environment Ibrar Hussain has placed ban on appointment in teaching and research wings of the institute, according to sources.

The parliamentary secretary for environment department, Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli, when approached, confirmed ban on fresh recruitment in PFI. She admitted that PFI was facing some serious issues and government was chalking out reform plan for the revitalisation of the institute.

Sources said that the minister concerned had also banned recruitment on the posts, which were filled through development projects. These posts were advertised a few months ago.The federal government had deputed teachers and administrative staff from all four provinces at PFI on deputation before the passage of 18th Amendment.

Officials said that provincial government had yet to evolve mechanism for posting, transfer and recruitment of employees at the institute after devolution.

A teacher said that promotion of teachers and other employees had been pending since long and some of the retired employees had yet to get pension for the last two years. `Both federal and provincial governments have ignored the long standing issues of PFI,` he said, adding as a result activities in the institute had crippled.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led provincial government has formed working groups comprising senior officers, professionals and experts for different departments including environment for introducing reforms.

Officials in PFI said that performance of the working group on environment was very poor and had yet to conclude the reform package.