PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Monday directed all educational boards of the province not to trouble any educational institution over the holding of the board examinations for fifth and eighth graders, which is challenged by the private schools.

Justice Lal Jan Khattak and Justice Abdul Shakoor directed the respondents, including the elementary and secondary education secretary and administration of all boards of intermediate and secondary education, to file replies to the petition filed by the Private Education Network (PEN).

They directed the officials of different boards to refrain from harassing or pressuring private educational institutions on the issue.

Abdul Sattar Khan, lawyer for the petitioner, said his client was a representative body of private schools in the province.

PHC seeks govt reply on petition against 5th, 8th grade board examinations

He said the elementary and secondary education department had decided that from the academic year 2017-18, the examinations of grade 5 and 8 would be conducted by the respective educational boards.

The lawyer said the government had decided to make the decision binding on private educational institutions but no law or rule had been made to hold the examinations.

He said the course books of private institutions were different from those of government ones.

The lawyer asked how the students of private institutions could appear in those examinations when they had studied different course.

He added that while taking that important decision, the government had not taken into confidence the officials of private institution. The counsel feared that this practice by the government might result in wastage of an important academic year of the students.

He stated that officials of different boards had been visiting private schools and pressurizing them for appearance of their students in the board examinations of the said two grades.

Shakeela Khan, lawyer for Peshawar Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, said there were eight educational boards in the province.

She asked the bench to give her time for filing replies on behalf of the educational boards.

PETITION MAINTAINABLE: The bench on Monday declared maintainable a petition filed by some candidates against the recent appointment of 104 civil judges through the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission.

The petition is filed by Naveeda Naz and seven other candidates, who had cleared the written examination but had not qualified for the posts in the interview. The bench fixed Aug 23 for next hearing of the petition observing that arguments would be held on the main petition on next date.

The PSC had raised objection over the petition and had contended that the petition was not maintainable.

Abdul Lateef Afridi and Sajeed Afridi, counsel for the petitioners, said their clients had cleared the written examination with good marks but they were failed in interview.

They added that under the rules, members of the interview panel had to award marks to a candidate separately.

The lawyers, however, said in the instant case, instead of awarding separate marks by each of the members, unified marking was done.

They said under the existing procedure, members of the interview panel awarded their marks, which were mentioned in the shape of aggregate marks and that there was no illegality committed in it.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2017