Proposed Sindh HEC challenged in court
Petitioner maintains that higher education is a federal prerogative.
Petitioner maintains that higher education is a federal prerogative. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
KARACHI:
After hearing a petition that challenged the proposed formation of the Sindh Higher Education Commission, the Sindh High Court on Thursday issued notices to the provincial chief secretary, ministry of education, and the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
The complainant, the Pak-China Foundation, claimed that the HEC was created as an autonomous body, and it is being governed by an 18-member commission that works under a chairperson, who has the status of a federal minister. The prime minister is the controlling authority of the institution.
The composition of the HEC reflects a balanced structure, as it has the representation of each province, as well as, the secretaries of education, and science and technology. Prominent academics and research experts are also part of the commission, claimed Pak-China Foundation coordinator Sheikh Mohammad Waliullah Alam.
Alam said, howevr, that the Sindh government’s decision to form the provincial higher education commission was tantamount to devolving higher education to the provinces, which is “not permitted by any law”. Alam claimed that higher education was linked with national educational, planning, and economic policies, and argued that it should, therefore, remain a federal subject.
“The Supreme Court has already decided that the HEC is a federal subject and it is protected under constitutional provisions in the federal legislative list,” argued the petitioner’s lawyer. “Therefore, any act on part of the Sindh government against the Supreme Court’s [decision] is unlawful, and liable to be quashed, unless the federal government passes fresh legislation.”
However, Sindh is not alone in having made attempts at forming a provincial body to deal with higher education issues in the province. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has already established a provincial education commission, while the Punjab and Balochistan are taking steps in that direction as well.
Nevertheless, the petitioner pleaded that attempts by the Sindh government to constitute a provincial higher education commission should be suspended as long as the bench was hearing the case.
Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, who was heading the bench, asked the respondents to submit their replies by January 23.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2013.
After hearing a petition that challenged the proposed formation of the Sindh Higher Education Commission, the Sindh High Court on Thursday issued notices to the provincial chief secretary, ministry of education, and the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
The complainant, the Pak-China Foundation, claimed that the HEC was created as an autonomous body, and it is being governed by an 18-member commission that works under a chairperson, who has the status of a federal minister. The prime minister is the controlling authority of the institution.
The composition of the HEC reflects a balanced structure, as it has the representation of each province, as well as, the secretaries of education, and science and technology. Prominent academics and research experts are also part of the commission, claimed Pak-China Foundation coordinator Sheikh Mohammad Waliullah Alam.
Alam said, howevr, that the Sindh government’s decision to form the provincial higher education commission was tantamount to devolving higher education to the provinces, which is “not permitted by any law”. Alam claimed that higher education was linked with national educational, planning, and economic policies, and argued that it should, therefore, remain a federal subject.
“The Supreme Court has already decided that the HEC is a federal subject and it is protected under constitutional provisions in the federal legislative list,” argued the petitioner’s lawyer. “Therefore, any act on part of the Sindh government against the Supreme Court’s [decision] is unlawful, and liable to be quashed, unless the federal government passes fresh legislation.”
However, Sindh is not alone in having made attempts at forming a provincial body to deal with higher education issues in the province. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has already established a provincial education commission, while the Punjab and Balochistan are taking steps in that direction as well.
Nevertheless, the petitioner pleaded that attempts by the Sindh government to constitute a provincial higher education commission should be suspended as long as the bench was hearing the case.
Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, who was heading the bench, asked the respondents to submit their replies by January 23.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2013.