HEC dissolution challenged in LHC

Implementation committee, federal govt named as respondents.

LAHORE:

A petition has been filed before the Lahore High Court challenging the dissolution of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan.

The petitioner, Advocate Fahad Ahmed Siddiqi, submitted that the federal government was handing over the responsibilities of the HEC to the provinces, but the provinces would not get extra funds for higher education.

He argued that the government had committed to meeting the Millennium Development Goals on education, but it would have no chance of doing so if the HEC were dissolved.

The petitioner submitted that the federal government and the 18th Amendment Implementation Committee, which is tasked with devolving powers to the provinces, had acted in haste and misused their authority in deciding to dissolve the HEC. He alleged that the respondents – the government and the implementation committee – had acted with malice and ulterior motives.

He asked the court to stay the dissolution of the HEC and to summon the chairman of the implementation committee, Senator Raza Rabbani, to explain why it was decided that the HEC did not fall within ambit and scope of the federal legislation list in the Constitution.



Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2011.