LAHORE: The Punjab government on Wednesday undertook before the Lahore High Court that a bill would be presented in the next session of the Punjab Assembly about regulation of fee structure at private schools.

A provincial law officer gave the undertaking in writing on behalf of the schools education secretary during the hearing of a petition questioning expensive fee structure of private schools.

Advocate Sheraz Zaka had filed the public interest litigation petition saying the government had failed to make any law to govern the private schools in terms of their fee structure.

He said that owners of private schools had increased fee even twice in a year and remained unchecked.

He said the education at private schools had become a dream for commoners due to non-existence of any regulatory law.

The law officer submitted a written reply of the secretary and stated a bill to this effect would be presented before the Punjab Assembly in next session, he added.

At this, Justice Shahid Jamil disposed of the petition and directed the Punjab government to ensure presentation of the bill in the assembly for approval.

Siblings recovered: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday handed over two siblings to their parents after getting them recovered from the house of their employer who happens to be brother of a former home secretary of Punjab.

Muhammad Hanif of Nankana Sahib filed a petition, stating that his son and daughter had been working as domestic servants in the house of Nawaz Shah, the brother of retired Brig Ejaz Shah.

The petitioner said the employer had not been paying salary to the siblings for several months and also denying them access to their parents.

On court’s order, Gulberg police recovered Waqas (10) and Aasia (12) from the house of Nawaz Shah and produced them before the court of Justice Tariq Abbasi.

The judge gave the custody of the children to their father.

appointment: Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah of the Lahore High Court would take up on Thursday (today) a writ petition challenging appointment of Prof Dr Qazi Saeed as pro-vice chancellor of Kind Edward Medical College University.

Through a public interest litigation petition, Advocate Chaudhry Shoaib Saleem pleaded the appointment of Prof Saeed was made in violation of the university’s law and merit. He pointed out that the law required selection of a pro-vice chancellor from top three candidates in the seniority list of professors. However, the respondent professor was tenth in the list and the government appointed him bypassing other eligible professors, he added.

The lawyer alleged the impugned appointment was made on ‘recommendation’ of PML-N MNA Hamza Shahbaz. He asked the court to set aside the appointment of Prof Saeed for being illegal.

acquitted: An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday acquitted two clerics by giving them benefit of doubt in a case of spreading religious hatred.

Sheikhupura police had booked Abdul Sattar for spreading religious hatred by using loudspeaker while Okara police had picked up Abdul Qayum. Both suspects were produced before the court.

The counsel of the defence said his clients had been falsely implicated in the case and prosecution had failed to prove the allegation in police investigations.

The court after hearing both sides acquitted the clerics of the charges.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2015

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