G-B CM orders closure of Education Fellowship Program

GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan has ordered the immediate closure of the Education Fellowship Program, a project aimed at addressing acute teacher shortages in the region’s remote and underserved areas.

The directive, issued to the G-B Chief Secretary, has raised concerns about the future of over 1,200 education fellows and the schools dependent on them.

According to the orders dated November 29, the decision followed a high-level briefing by the Education Department, during which officials reportedly failed to justify the program’s teacher distribution process.

“Upon receiving complaints regarding the distribution of required human resources, a briefing of the Education Department on the matter was convened on November 29, 2024, in the office of the Chief Minister, GB,” the directive states.

During the meeting, the Director General of School Education and the Director of Education for the Diamer Region briefed the Chief Minister on the procedures and distribution criteria for these fellows in Gilgit-Baltistan schools. However, the concerned officers were unable to adequately explain or justify the process.

The chief minister expressed strong disappointment over the “unjustified distribution of the Education Fellows.”

The program, initially designed to address the needs of remote areas, was deemed a failure in achieving its primary objectives. Instead, allegations of poor planning and mismanagement emerged, leading to inequitable resource allocation, public resentment, and wasted government funds.

Labeling the program’s execution as “ill-planned and mismanaged,” Gulbar Khan instructed its immediate discontinuation. He also called for strict disciplinary action against the responsible officials under the G-B Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2011.

The G-B government had launched the initiative in August 2023 to improve the education system and address the shortage of teachers in government schools across the region. The program was a collaboration between Aga Khan University (AKU), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Karakoram International University (KIU), and Knowledge Platform. Under the initiative, AKU and its partners recruited, trained, and deployed 1,200 education fellows to government schools in G-B, with the project costing over Rs2.19 billion.

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The abrupt termination of the program has sparked concerns not only for the future of the 1,200 fellows but also for the schools and students relying on them. The decision is likely to lead to protests and litigations.

Special Assistant to Chief Minister Eiman Shah, while speaking to HUM News English, said the future of the fellows will be clear by Monday. “Decision has been made, but complexities arise when shutting down a project after its approval, expenditure, and fund transfer to the department. Therefore, clarity on the matter is expected by Monday,” Shah added.