Mirpurkhas education board chief’s appointment challenged

The service of Barkat Ali Hyderi as Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Mirpurkhas chairman has been challenged with the petitioner contending that he is being allowed to work on an extension in an unlawful way.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) Hyderabad Circuit Bench on Thursday put the Provincial Government and other respondents on notice in the petition filed by Tauseef Raza, a local leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Mirpurkhas chapter.

The counsel for the petitioner, Jehanzeb Ali Dahri advocate, apprised the court that the Provincial Government had appointed Hyderi as Chairman BISE Mirpurkhas in March, 2016, for a term of four years.

However, after the completion of his term he continued working on an extension on the "till further order" basis. On May 26, 2021, the Provincial Cabinet again extended his service for three months while the Secretary Boards and Universities was directed to advertise the said post.

According to the petitioner, the post has not been advertised so far and that Hyderi continues to hold the office. "... he has continuously been misusing his authority and has also done suspensions and appointments illegally," he contended. In one instance, Hyderi removed a BPS-19 Controller Examination and gave his charge to a BPS-17 officer.

The petitioner's lawyer pointed out that all the top three positions, including Chairman, Controller and Secretary BISE, are awaiting regular appointments as the incumbent officials are serving on a temporary basis.

He apprised that Hyderi had also headed the BISE Hyderabad.

The petitioner prayed the court to direct the Government to place before the bench the entire record of Hyderi's appointment and extensions on the same position. He urged the court to order advertisement of the vacant posts, including of Chairman BISE Mirpurkhas, and a merit-based selection as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2023.