ISLAMABAD: One of the two suspended members of Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (Peira) has alleged that the chairperson of the authority was appointed against rules and regulations.

Imtiaz Qureshi informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that Peira Chairperson Zia Batool did not possess the degree required for applying for the post advertised in 2019.

Ms Batool was appointed in October 2019 by the education ministry for a three-year term on the MP-II Scale.

In January this year, while hearing a case regarding appointment of Peira members Imtiaz Qureshi and Waqas Mehmood, the IHC had suspended them.

Recently, Mr Qureshi in his reply informed Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the IHC that the Peira chairperson was appointed in sheer violation of rules.

He said the qualification notified in the advertisement for the recruitment of the Peira head was a master’s degree in Education Planning and Management, Public Administration/MBA, Law or LLM or PhD and MPhil in these subjects or allied subjects. He alleged that the chairperson holds a master’s degree in agriculture economics from the University of Faisalabad, which according to him did not fall in the category required for the appointment.

“It is clearly evident that Ms Zia Batool does not possess basic requisite qualification for eligibility to even apply for the post of Chairman Peira. Therefore, his appointment has been made in violation of rules and selection criteria and hence terminable forthwith,” the suspended member alleged in his 163-page application/reply submitted to the IHC.

He also made several other allegations against the chairperson.Piera comprises the chairperson and two members, now both suspended, and is mandated to regulate private educational institutions in Islamabad.

When contacted, the suspended member said he had produced record before the IHC, claiming that the chairperson was appointed in 2019 in sheer violation of Peria rules 2015 and the advertisement. “The document I produced is now part of the judicial record,” he said.

When contacted, Chairperson Zia Batool rejected the allegations, adding she was appointed after a competitive and legal process. She said MSc in agriculture economics falls in the category of degrees which were required for the post of chairperson. She said she is also enrolled for a PhD degree in education planning and management.

“I have been serving in the education sector for the last two decades and earlier I served in the Higher Education Commission for more than 11 years,” she said and added that she would respond to the allegations after getting details. She said she is educationist and economist and her degree falls in category of social sciences, which was the requirement for post.

An officer of the education ministry said there was a need for a proper inquiry into the allegations.

“This is very open case now. If the suspended member leveling false allegations, he should be taken to task and if he is speaking the truth, there is a need to take action as how an alleged ineligible candidate was appointed against the important post,” he said.

He said it is also strange that Mr Qureshi is questioning the qualification of the chairperson after his suspension.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2021