PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Monday stopped Kohat district education officer (Female) from re-advertising vacant posts of Certified Teacher-Information Technology (CT-IT) in the district over a petition challenging appointments of three candidates not having the required qualification.

A single bench of Justice Shakil Ahmad issued notices to director of elementary and secondary education and Kohat district education officer, asking them to respond to the petition filed by a candidate, Aneela Afridi, who claimed that three other female candidates not having the required qualification were appointment against the posts of CT-IT in Kohat.

The petitioner has also challenged a notification of the education department issued on April 24, 2017, which provides that an appointed candidate shall acquire a required qualification within three years of appointment.

She requests the court to declare the impugned notification to the extent of acquiring qualification within three years as unconstitutional and discriminatory.

PHC issues notices to education director and district education officer

Respondents in the petition are: secretary of education department, director education, Kohat DEO (female), deputy director education Kohat and the three appointed candidates.

Advocate Malik Ihtishamul Haq Khan appeared for the petitioner and stated that the Kohat DEO advertised some posts of CT-IT (BPS-12) on May 19, 2019, and his client applied for the said posts. He claimed that after process of screening and short-listing test, a first tentative merit list was displayed in which the petitioner was shown at serial No. 2.

However, he said that after lapse of the last date of forms submission, the respondents in order to accommodate their favourites issued a corrigendum on June 15, 2019, through which the last date was extended.

He said that the respondents also relieved the qualification for CT-IT as mentioned in the advertisement, stating that if any candidate did not possess the qualification mentioned in the advertisement she should acquire it within a period of three years after date of appointment.

The counsel argued that the corrigendum clearly showed the mala fide intention on part of the respondents including DEO (female). He said that the DEO and deputy director education appointed four candidates, three of whom did not possess the required qualification, hence were illegally considered and appointed.

He argued that because of the impugned notification, the certificate and diploma of Certified Teacher, Associate Degree in Education and Diploma in Information Technology would become redundant and of no use.

He requested the court to direct the DEO to give weightage to CT and ADE in calculating final merit list for appointment against the CT-IT post and prepare fresh merit list.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2020