HEC told to propose amendments to set up a national testing service. PHOTO: FILE
The Lahore High Court on Saturday declared the National Testing Service (a private firm) illegal and directed the Higher Education Commission to ensure that no private firms conducted tests as long as a “national testing service was not constituted through proper legislation”.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah of the LHC issued the order on a petition filed by Syeda Anam Ilyas, a PhD candidate, challenging the “illegal status of the National Testing Service and the tests it conducts for admissions to and scholarships for higher education in and outside the country”.
On Saturday, the court directed the Higher Education Commission not to sponsor or extend patronage to the NTS, as it was not an officially approved national service. It further said that none of the universities or academic institutions recognised by the HEC were legally obliged to accept the tests given by the NTS or were bound by the test results in granting admissions or scholarships to students.
The court also ordered the HEC to propose an amendment to its ordinance-rules to provide a proper regulatory statutory framework to establish, monitor and supervise a national testing service.
The judge said that until such a time that proper legislation was put in place, the HEC would not initiate the process of selecting and appointing a national testing body under the ordinance. Justice Shah observed that admissions and scholarships were not to be made dependent on NTS test results and directed the HEC to display the court’s order on its website.
However, the judge observed that admissions and scholarships already granted or refused on the basis of the tests conducted by NTS in the past would not be reopened after the order and existing arrangements between the NTS and the HEC would continue till May 30.
HEC Regional Director Nazeer Hussain and NTS Secretary Waqar Sami Khan were present during the course of the proceedings. Representatives of various universities and colleges also assisted the court through suggestions on the status of the private testing service. The court then disposed of the petition.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 23rd, 2014.
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Very good, now HEC or any other university scholarships will be granted to their favorites/ family members/friends, because now there is no standardized test to evaluate applicants, no-one will ever know what will be merit, what criteria will now be adopted for awarding these scholarships. Moreover, several recruitment tests will also face the same fate. People are not realizing the repercussions of such idiotic judgement, NTS was at its least was doing a tremendous job of conducting tests fairly and transparently. Our courts are running on an agenda to weak every institution of pakistan.
NTS being private body, registered as non profit organization NGO in SECP, known as an educational business has been run by uneducated group finally near to shutdown.
How is it illegal for HEC to contract work to a private company. testing in the US is conducted by ETS and otehr private companies. When will we join the 21st century?
" the judge observed that admissions and scholarships already granted or refused on the basis of the tests conducted by NTS in the past would not be reopened after the order and existing arrangements between the NTS and the HEC would continue till May 30" if its illeagal then y dont they immediately stop it and take action against the responsibles who allowed them to do all this
Why has it taken 12 yrs for the justice system to deem this service illegal? Why exactly has it been deemed illegal? What exactly did the petition filed against NTS say? What of the scores of money that the service has earned since 2002 till date? Too many questions and too few answers.