Nasir Mehmood Khosa, the chief secretary, stated this in a written reply submitted before the court of Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif in connection with suo motu proceedings against the BISE for collecting a result card fee in violation of the government’s direction.
Khosa said that the board had adopted various measures in order to check tampering of certificates that include printing of certificates on special security paper, insertion of water marks and security ribbons, ‘three-fold printing’, printing of student’s photograph and plastic lamination of the certificate.
The reply further said that previously all the education boards of the province used to issue certificates free of charge. However, after taking the above steps, the boards were forced to levy the Rs450 fee. “This does not come within the purview of admission fee,” the reply filed by Khosa stated. A senior lawyer Barrister Zafarullah Khan, on the court’s request, also filed a report on the matter. He maintained that the levy was in violation of the newly inserted article 25-A of the Constitution, which binds the government to providing free education. He asked the court to set aside all such fees being charged by the board declaring them as unconstitutional.
The chief justice, however, adjourned further hearing until Tuesday (today) and directed both the sides to give their rejoinders to each other’s replies.
Earlier, receipts were also submitted by Security Printing Press Karachi in order to substantiate the expense being borne by the BISE for issuance of the certificates.
Justice Sharif had taken suo motu notice on an appeal published in an Urdu daily by the principal of Allama Iqbal Public High School in Kasur.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2010.
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