The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has rejected a petition filed by the Kohat Board seeking a stay order against the transfer of private schools’ examination halls to government institutions.
The decision means that matriculation exams, scheduled to begin on April 8, will proceed as per the Kohat Board's plan.
A bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Khursheed Iqbal heard the case. During the proceedings, Justice Arshad Ali stated that the Assistant Commissioner will not be allowed inside the examination halls.
The petitioner's lawyer argued that private schools already have well-equipped examination halls and that 70,000 out of 100,000 students appearing for the matriculation exams belong to private institutions. He also contended that examination hall allocation should remain the prerogative of education boards, not the Chief Secretary or other officials.
However, Chairman of the Kohat Board, Imtiaz Ayub, defended the decision, stating that the Education Board has the authority under the Boards Act. He revealed that 319 examination halls have been set up across Kohat, Kurram, Hangu, and Orakzai districts in government institutions. He further accused private schools of systematic cheating, alleging that external students are brought in to take exams fraudulently.
The court was informed that the new policy, aimed at curbing cheating, had already been approved by the provincial government and would be implemented across the province. The notification for the new examination hall policy was issued on February 20, and all preparations were completed two months ago, according to the Kohat Board.
On the issue of fees, the Kohat Board denied taking any money from schools for examination halls. However, the petitioner’s lawyer claimed that private institutions had been managing their own halls for 13 years, and the board’s sudden intervention was unjustified.
The Additional Advocate General supported the government’s stance, arguing that under the Education Act of 1990, the decision falls within the government's authority, and the court should not interfere in policy matters.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court dismissed the petition, clearing the way for the new examination hall policy to be implemented as planned.