PHC suspends KP govt decision on grades-V & VIII examinations

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday suspended the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s decision which had directed both the government and private educational institutions to conduct Grades-V and VIII examinations in the province.

A division bench comprising Justice Ikramullah Khan and Justice Lal Jan Khattak announced the decision.

The bench issued notice to provincial government to submit reply before the next hearing into the case.

The provincial government on April 17, 2017 circulated the notification that approved assessment/exam for Grade-V and Grade-VIII with effect from the academic year 2017-18.

The bench issued directions in a writ petition filed by Private Education Network through Anas Takreem, secretary Media and Information, against the government decision.

During the course of hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer, Abdul Sattar Khan, submitted that the petitioner institutions were carrying out assessment of the students on the basis of internal examination.

He added that the notification had not been published in the official gazette to date and thus had no legal value or binding force in view of Clause-41 of Section 2 of the West Pakistan General Clauses Act 1957.

Under the present law, he argued, a board shall have the power to organise, regulate, develop and control only the intermediate education and secondary education.

In the grounds to the petition, it was submitted that the existing system of examination in case of elementary education could not be changed without proper legislation.

The notification in hand was termed against the protection enshrined by the Constitution of Pakistan. It was prayed that the court declare the notification illegal and against the law.

Separately, the same bench also put on notice secretary and director general of Mines and Mineral Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a writ petition filed by a foreign mining company for non-issuing of a licence despite receiving a fee Rs3.6 million.

The bench issued the notice in the writ petition of the Central Exchange Mining Limited, an Australian company, filed through Yaqoob Khan, Chief Executive Officer. He sought an order of the court for issuing of the mining licence.

The company’s lawyer submitted before the bench that foreign company first got survey letter for extraction of precious mines in Chitral district in 2005. Later, he said, in 2015 the company’s got a mining licence for three years. The company, he said now applied for renewal of the licence and deposited Rs3.6 million, but the licence was not issued by the authorities concerned without reasons.

The lawyer submitted that such steps by the authorities concerned could lead to the loss of the interest by foreign investors. He prayed the court to direct the relevant officials to issue the mining licence to the company.