LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday dismissed a notification issued by the Punjab Higher Education secretary which had imposed five-year time period for doing intermediate after matriculation.
The court termed the ban “unconstitutional” and observed that the secretary acted without authority, as the power of creating policy lies with the cabinet, while the role of the secretary is limited to ensuring its implementation.
The decision was made by Justice Atir Mehmood on a plea filed by a woman who was refused an admission into an intermediate college after having discontinued her studies for over five years following her matriculation.
The petitioner had stated that she had to discontinue her education following her marriage but decided to get an admission after her divorce.
The petitioner further stated that a college in Faisalabad refused to give her admission citing a notification issued by the provincial higher education secretary, maintaining that it was against her fundamental rights as a citizen of Pakistan.
Upholding her petition, the court set aside the notification and observed that a policy should be based on “sound reasons, rational and it should be in accordance with the law”. The judge said, the only rationale he could find for upholding the policy was that the “same aged group candidates may not be disturbed by adult students in the institutions”.
“But the right of education cannot be denied to any citizen of the country at any stage of their age,” Justice Mahmood held.
