ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration is, once again, set to take over the offices of various educational institutes situated at Curriculum Wing Complex, causing unrest among its employees.
This time Curriculum Wing office is exempted while the offices of Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PIERA), National Education Assessment System (NEAS) and Islamabad Public and Children Libraries at the complex have been decided to occupy.
Though Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Joint Educational Advisor Rafique Tahir maintained that no institute would be dislocated, PIERA building has already been handed over to ICT administration after shifting PIERA office to a hired building. The second building of libraries is to be handed over to ICT shortly while NEAS officials have been asked to shift on the third floor of the Academy of Educational Planning and Management (AEPAM) located in sector G-8.  And for this NEAS officials have been asked to prepare their layout plan for partitioning and other necessary infrastructure along with estimates for shifting of their offices.
According to a document, the decision was taken in a meeting held on September 4, 2012 under the chair of Justice Azam Khan Afridi, the then judge of Islamabad High Court, that the 'following three buildings located in H-9 sector will be handed over to ICT administration temporarily in order to accommodate court rooms for judiciary and offices of ICT administration'.
The ICT administration had tried to occupy the office of CW and its hostel in early 2012 too, but due to firm stand of then Secretary CA&DD Imtiaz Inayat Elahi, the building of CW and its hostel was regained. The Ministry of Housing and Works had allocated the building to CADD and cancelled the allotment of ICT administration.
According to officials, this time judiciary is also involved with the ICT administration and CADD instead of taking any stand has allowed ICT administration to occupy the offices and a newly constructed building for the purpose of hostel within the premises of CW has already been handed over to it. The hostel of curriculum wing was built to accommodate visiting experts.
The Curriculum Wing compound in Sector H-9 initially belonged to the devolved education ministry and after the devolution it was allocated to CADD and so were the educational institutions housed in the area except NEAS that works under the Ministry of Education, Training & Standards in Higher Education.
Nobody is happy with the decision and they feel that the ICT is trying to gain forcible possession of the offices, remarked a senior official of the Ministry of Education, Training and Standards in Higher Education. "Why don't they build their own buildings or rent any other? Actually, education has never been a priority for anyone here and so are their employees and departments. They are an easy target that is evidenced by this decision."
Initially, it was agreed upon that Children Library would be shifted to F-8 Markaz and an alternate space would also be allocated for Islamabad Public Library. "But so far no space has been made available for both the libraries, while the ICT and judiciary officials force us to vacate the building," informed one of the in-charge of libraries.
When contacted Director General of Department of Libraries Chaudhry Nazir said that they have no issue if they are provided with an alternative space to shift. "Though the space agreed upon for Children Library in F-8 was not suitable as women and children may hesitate to visit it because of district courts and chamber offices in the area, still we agreed. But without the alternate space, where would we shift 10,000 books of Children and 60,000 of Islamabad public libraries." 
The employees of NEAS feel that they have been made scapegoat by CADD officials who did not take stand against the occupation and by saving the Curriculum Wing office they agreed to hand over other buildings to ICT. While the then Secretary CADD Imtiaz Inayat Elahi had resisted when the ICT had tried to occupy the Curriculum Wing in 2012.
The officials of NEAS believe that relocating the institute that assess the quality of education being imparted in schools across the country would affect its work, making it difficult to transfer the data and records to the third flour and keep it safe during surveys.
Earlier, the institute could not conduct assessment studies because of lack of allocation of funds and now it's been fighting for its existence, said Jaffar Mansoor Abbasi, National Coordinator of NEAS. "After the devolution, NEAS was partially paralysed due to transfer of trained staff to their parent departments, meagre budget allocation for assessment activities and being a rolling stone under different ministries."