Proposed draft bill of KP boards of elementary and secondary examinations rejected

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Coordination Council has rejected the proposed draft bill, meant to centralise examinations system of all educational boards of the province and said the move could affect autonomous status of the educational boards, which would be resisted at every level.
Speaking at a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday, the Council General Secretary, Mohammad Umar Farooq said that a draft bill of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Boards of Elementary and Secondary Examinations Act 2017 was finalized by the provincial government to bring all educational boards under the Elementary and Secondary Education Department.
He said that the replacement of the previous Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education Act 1990 with the new proposed Act to fulfill the wishes of few people is acceptable for them. Farooq said that the Peshawar education board would be declared as central board under the new proposed Act by ending autonomous status of all educational boards in the province and to work under supervision of provincial department of elementary and secondary education. He said that the provincial government move was created great unrest among the clerical staffs of the all boards and rest of employees.
He criticised the PTI-led provincial government for adopting double-standard policy, saying that steps were being taken to give autonomy to public sector institutions in the province, while the proposed Act was clearly contradicting the provincial government policy.
The council general secretary said the stakeholders were not taken into confidence before the finalization of the proposed draft of the Act, which was unacceptable to them. He alleged the provincial government is bringing this legislation on the directions of other people. He viewed that all educational boards are efficiently running under the Act 1990.
All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA) central president, Tariq Safi, Malgari Babugan provincial president, Engr Israr Khan, APCA provincial president Farman Ali Khan, district president Mumtaz Ali Khan, Deputy General Secretary Private Education Network Anas Takreem, and vice president Fazalullah Daudzai and others were also present on the occasion.
Farooq said the employees' promotion was completely ignored in the new proposed Act. He said that the revenue of all educational boards would be transferred to Peshawar board under the new Act. "We are not against the reforms in educational boards but the provincial government to bring changes in the existing Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education Act 1990, instead of completely repealing it.
He claimed that the Elementary and Secondary Education department was authorized to pass the failed student under the new proposed Act, which would put the question mark on credibility of the educational boards. The council general secretary furthermore informed the all religious seminaries would be brought under the Elementary and Secondary Education Department as per the new proposed Act, while their examinations would also be conducted by the education department.
Similarly, he said there was no clearly policy about the promotion of boards employees in the proposed draft of the new Act. He said the boards powers would be centralized after the enactment of the Act. He added the scholarships for the top 10 position holders students has been reduced to only three under the new Act.
Umar Farooq warned that if the legislation was passed by the provincial assembly, the employees of all educational boards would go on pen-down strike for indefinite period. He added the all private schools across the province, would also support their protest movement against the unfair legislation of the provincial government.