PHC bans deputations in education foundation

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday placed a ban on deputations of officers from other departments in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Elementary Education Foundation (EEF) and sought a response from the provincial government.

A bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice SM Atique Shah heard the petition.The petition, filed by 29 employees of the foundation through Aamir Javed and Sangeen Khan, argued that employees of the foundation had not received promotions for over a decade.

The reason cited was the appointment of officers from other departments to positions in grade 18 and 19, which should have been filled through internal promotions, the petition said.The lawyers told the bench that the petitioners, who were permanent employees of the foundation, were initially hired on contractual basis in grade 17 and they were regularized by the high court in a decision upheld by the Supreme Court.

Despite having over 10 years of experience, the lawyers that the petitioners were not considered for promotion to grade 18 and instead officers on deputation from other departments were appointed at the foundation.

The lawyers said despite the availability of vacancies of finance officers, some of the petitioners, who had the required qualification and experience, had been promoted for the past 10 years.

They said such actions violated several articles of the Constitution, including Articles 4, 9, 18, and 25. They requested the court to declare the deputation illegal and nullify the notification of appointments dating back to November 2018.After hearing the arguments, the court imposed a ban on further deputations in the foundation and sought an explanation from the relevant government authorities.