2006 PLP 1216 (YLR)

TASSADUQ HUSSAIN JILLANI, J.

Through this petition, petitioner has sought a declaratory judgment to the effect that the permission/charter granted to the respondent private institutions/universities/ schools/colleges be declared as without lawful authority and violative of the fundamental rights provision of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973.

2. In support of this petition, learned counsel submitted that the right to education is a fundamental right and State functionaries are mandated under the law to take measures with a view to ensure that quality education is imparted to the citizens. Further submitted that in absence of any regulatory system, the respondent institutions are neither honest to the mandate of their charter nor they are imparting quality education.

3. Learned counsel for respondent No.1 i.e. Lahore School of Economics submitted that the issues raised in this petition pertain to the policy making domain of the State and this Court may not like to interfere under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973. Added that there is no element of compulsion in the people to join a particular institution and they have free choice. That being so, according to the learned counsel, the allegation of exploitation is incorrect.

4. The learned Additional Advocate General Punjab, submitted that the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan is supervising working of the respondent institutions and the Provincial Government is currently undertaking a survey about the working of the private schools and colleges and the matter would be dealt with in the light of the report submitted and the attending circumstances.

5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and have given anxious consideration to the submissions made at the bar.

6. The issues raised by the petitioners and the submissions made by their learned counsel are crucial and of immense public interest. The right to education is indeed a fundamental right and it is the constitutional duty of the concerned State institutions to take steps and create an environment conducive for the public to pursue the goal of quality education. In most of the countries the world over, the private sector has also entered the field. Schools, colleges and universities have been set up with permission of the competent authority to impart education. The manner in which these institutions are functioning and the quality of education, is a subject of controversy. The question whether there should be a regulatory authority to monitor their functioning and the parameters of its authority are moot points entailing detailed study, factual inquiry and expert opinion. That being so, notwithstanding the importance of the issues raised and the bona fides of those who seek intervention, this Court, on account of the limitations of its authority under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, cannot undertake such an exercise. In these circumstances, 1 am inclined to dispose of this petition with the observation that the learned Law Officer present in Court, shall apprise the competent authority of the need to address these issues with the spirit and dedication required. F.M./I-67/L Petition disposed of,