KARACHI: Lawmakers finally gave bureaucrats the go-ahead to lead the intermediate and secondary education boards in the province as the Sindh Assembly adopted the controversial bill with a majority vote on 23rd May.
The Sindh Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Amendment) Bill, tabled in the assembly on Jan 27, 2025, contained one of the most controversial provisions that enables the provincial government to appoint any senior civil servant as the chairman of an educational board.
The Jamaat-i-Islami’s (JI) lone member Muhammad Farooq was the only one to voice concern over the amended law but he was not allowed by the chair to put forward his reservation or objection to the bill.
He said that he had moved an amendment to the bill and wished to speak on it.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs minister said that the amendment moved by the JI member had been rejected by the standing committee that approved the amended bill after deliberations.
As per the new law, chairman of an educational board would be appointed by the chief minister or his nominee either through direct recruitment process or by transfer from among the cadre officers of BPS-19/20.
Besides the appointment of the boards’ chairmen, the bill also envisaged changes in the procedure for appointing heads, examination directors and secretaries of the education boards across the province.
The authority to appoint members to the education boards and the steering committee will also rest with the chief minister.
Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2025
