Matric Exams: Private schools challenge 20-year age limit

KARACHI:

In a petition challenging the age limit of 20 years, whose outcome could affect more than 3,000 Matric students, the Sindh High Court summoned the Board of Secondary Education, Karachi (BESK) on Tuesday.

Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Nisar Muhammad Shaikh earlier heard the lawyer for the Sindh Private Schools Management Association that has gone to court over the age limit, arguing that it would be a setback for the literacy rate.

The BSEK changed its policy on March 15, 2011 and implemented it for this year’s exams. But the private schools have asked the court to restrain the education board from applying it.

The private schools have also appealed to the court to issue a stay order on the exams until the admit cards are issued to the students who are affected by the age limit. This number is about 3,000 this year. The petitioner has also provided the court a long list of students born in 1988 and onwards.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2012.