SHC reserves judgment on plea against

direct appointments of education board officers

Karachi

The Sindh High Court on Thursday reserved its judgment on petitions against the provincial government’s decision on direct appointments of secretaries and controllers for the intermediate, secondary and technical boards of the province.

Prof Anwar Ahmed Zai, Dr Masroor Ahmed Zai and others officers who were working as controllers of examinations and chairmen for different intermediate, secondary and technical boards of the province had challenged the proposed direct appointment through advertisements and a competitive process.

They submitted that the secretary to the chief minister for universities and boards had published advertisements for appointment of secretaries and controllers for the intermediate and secondary education boards of the province outside the service cadre of the post, which was not authorised as per the law and rules.

The petitioners contended that they were appointed by the competent authority and were qualified to be promoted as they were senior officers of their respective boards.

The provincial government, on the other hand, contended that the creditability of the educational boards of the province has been under question for long as allegations of favouritism, nepotism, result tampering and declining standards continue to pour in.

Thus, the government had decided in principle to induct professionals and qualified people through merit-based competition.

The provincial law officer submitted that the respondents who were holding the post of education board chairman or controller could also avail these opportunities if they were genuinely eligible for the post.

He submitted that all education boards in Sindh, except Hyderabad, have been working without a process of competitive, merit-based selection, with officers simply being chosen and appointed on a contract basis.

The law officer added that it was for this reason that the controlling authority reviewed all the appointments and decided that all hiring done without the due procedure be cancelled.

After hearing the arguments, the SHC division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar reserved judgment over the matter.