SHC directs Dr Attaur Rahman to file comments

No illegality in formation of provincial HEC, govt informs court

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) granted on Wednesday time to former Higher Education Commission (HEC) chairperson Dr Attaur Rahman to file his comments on a reply of the Sindh government regarding its decision to establish the Sindh HEC.

A two-judge bench granted time to the petitioner till May 22.

Dr Rahman had approached the SHC, challenging the government's move to establish a provincial higher education commission. In its reply, the provincial government maintained that provinces had the authority to establish their own regulatory bodies for higher education after the passage of the 18^th Amendment. The government also claimed that the establishment of a provincial HEC would improve standards of higher education in the province.

The government contended that the education sector had been completely devolved to the provinces and, therefore, the issue of a provincial HEC could not be brought up at the Council of Common Interests (CCI).



The government also maintained that in 2011, the Supreme Court had ordered the Centre and the provinces to enact laws for higher education. According to the government, it had every right to set up the Sindh HEC. The government argued that the petitioner's claims were baseless.

The SHC directed the petitioner to submit his comments on the government's reply by May 22 through his legal counsel.

In his petition, Dr Rahman had maintained that the federal HEC had been formed in line with the international standards which could not be expected from a provincial HEC. "The establishment of a provincial commission is against the law," the petitioner had said, adding that as per the law, any provincial HEC could only be established after the approval of the CCI.