Court summons Edu Dept officials over transgender job quota

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has summoned top officials of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Department, directing them to explain why two percent quota was not allocated for transgender community in the jobs.

A division bench comprising Justice Ikramullah Khan and Justice Muhammad Ayub Khan directed the secretary and director Secondary and Higher Education Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to appear in person and explain their position to the legal questions raised by transgender person in the petition regarding the two percent quota.

The petition was filed by Rahim Dad Khan, a transgender person from Charsadda district, through a lawyer Javed Iqbal.

During hearing, the lawyer submitted that petitioner belonged to the transgender community and a permanent citizen of Charsadda district.

He informed the bench that the petitioner is a highly educated person having MA degree along with B.Ed and CT degrees and is presently serving in Nadra.

The lawyer submitted that the petitioner belongs to the community of transgenders and is highly qualified to be appointed as secondary school teacher (SST) general (BPS-16) and having more than the requisite qualification.

About the facts of the case, he stated that the respondent department has advertised some posts of different cadres to be filled in near future.

However, it was pointed out before the court that no seat was allocated for the transgender community in the impugned advertisement despite the fact that the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2012 through a judgment had directed the government to allocate two percent quota in all services for the transgender community. He said that despite clear direction of the apex court, the department did not allocate the quota for the transgender community.

In the petition, it was submitted that the department had allocated quota of three and two percent for minorities and disabled people, respectively, but discriminated against the transgender people by not allocating job quota for them.

It said that not allocating quota for the transgender community in the advertisement is illegal and violation of the SC decision.

The petitioner requested the court to issue directions to the government to allocate quota for the transgender community in the said jobs and not to fill any post till final decision in the petition.