'Matric-pass' minister to head education department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's new Minister for Education Akbar Ayub Khan has not studied beyond matriculaton, according to documents seen by Geo News.

Ayub was appointed the new education minister on Saturday in a major reshuffle of the provincial cabinet by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan. The chief minister reportedly made changes to portfolios of several ministers as he was dissatisfied with their performance. 

But the new education minister Akbar Ayub Khan, who previously held the Communication and Works portfolio, appears under-qualified for the job.

The official website of the KP Provincial Assembly states his educational qualification as matric. The same can be found in his papers submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), where he states his occupation as a businessman and a landlord and that he has studied only till the matriculation level.

On the other hand, the former adviser to the CM on elementary and secondary education, Ziaullah Khan Bangash, holds a Master's degree in Political Science.

Speaking to Geo News following his appointment, Ayub Khan said his educational qualifications did not matter, and that he was experienced in educational and administrative affairs.

Meanwhile, KP Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai also backed Ayub, saying he has vast administrative experience.

"It does not matter what degree he holds," Yousafzai told Geo News. "He has studied from a reputable institute and is a capable man."

When asked, the provincial information minister said he did not know who had vetted Ayub for the post. 

In a separate video message, Yousafzai said one should not question Ayub's capabilities solely due to the fact that he had not studied beyond the matriculation level.

"He left for Canada to pursue his construction business while he was in grade 12," said the information minister. "He is a skilled man and we should extract benefit from his experience and capabilities."

Yousafzai said the education minister could speak to foreign diplomats and dignitaries as "his English is the best". He said since education had been bifurcated into two parts, Ayub was given charge of the elementary education, not secondary. 

"He has to run an institute and for that, he has ample experience in the past as a minister," he said.

Major cabinet reshuffle

KP chief minister carried out a major reshuffle of his cabinet earlier on Saturday, adding more ministers and special assistants in what was termed as a move to improve the efficiency of the provincial government.  

Iqbal Wazir and Shah Mamood were the two new ministers who were added to the cabinet amid the shuffle that took place.

Read more: KP chief minister undertakes major cabinet reshuffle

Minister for Local Government Shahram Khan Tarakai has now been given charge of the Health Ministry.

Minister for Health Hisham Inamullah’s portfolio has now been changed to minister for Social Welfare.

Communication and Works minister Akbar Ayub Khan has now been given charge of Education department.

Former special assistant for Information Technology (IT) to CM Khan, Kamran Bangash has now been assigned the portfolio of Local Bodies.

CM Khan has also appointed Arif Ahmed Zai, Riaz Khan, Shafi Ullah, Zahoor Shakir Wazir Zada, Azam Swati, Ghazan Jamal and Taj Muhammad as his new special assistants.