Free Education: Petitioner calls for implementation of Article 25-A

Petitioner requested the court to direct the government to implement a uniform curriculum in all schools.

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued notices to the chief election commissioner and the cabinet and finance secretaries in response to a public-interest petition seeking the implementation of free and compulsory education for children between the ages five and 16 years.

Advocate Kowkab Iqbal filed a petition against the government for not implementing Article-25 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which guarantees that, “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to 16 years in such manner as may be determined by law’’.

The petitioner argued that the 18th Amendment had declared free and compulsory education for the children between five to 16 years through the insertion of the article, yet after the passage of two years, the government has failed to implement it, depriving over 30 million school-aged children of their rights. He informed the court that in the current budget, the government actually cut funding for education, yet millions of rupees are being spent on election campaigns and development budgets. He also requested the court to direct the government to implement a uniform curriculum in all schools.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2013.