NA body suspends FBISE head till completion of report

ISLAMABAD - National Assembly Standing Committee on Education has asked the relevant ministry to submit inquiry report within a week on alleged re-marking Chief Justice's daughter's intermediate examination papers. The Committee has also suspended the services of the Chairperson Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Islamabad till the completion of the report. The committee also directed the appointment of Controller and Assistant Controller as OSD (officers on special duty) so that an impartial inquiry could be conducted. The Minister for Education, Mir Hazar Khan Bajrani, the current and former chairpersons of the FBISE, members of the committee attended the meeting along with other ministry and the Board officials on Wednesday. Chairman of the Committee Abid Sher Ali has asked the Chairperson of the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) Shaheen Khan to explain the awarding of 21 additional marks to the CJ's daughter during re-evaluation of her papers in FSc. examination conducted by the board. The Minister for Education claimed that the committee was not authorised to discuss the matter being subjudice issue. Ali insisted that the committee was not going to give any decision but only wanted to discuss the issue, as the Parliament is supreme and could discuss any matter. The debate on the same point continued between the chairman NA Committee and the Education Minister at least for one hour on whether to start the proceedings or not. Finally, the committee members decided to summon Law Minister Farooq H. Niak, Parliamentary Minister Babar Awan, Akram Shaikh and Aitzaz Ahsan in the meeting and give their opinion whether the committee could be discussed or not. Initially, media was barred to attend the proceedings, later on Abid Sher Ali got the permission from the National Assembly Speaker for the media persons to attend the proceedings. The chairman of the committee has directed Education Minister to fire those teachers who are involved in the very issue. The minister , however, refused to take any action arguing that the matter was subjudice and the inquiry had also not been completed. However, he accepted that the improvement of results of Farah Hameed Dogar was illegal and no one would be spared involved in this illegality after the completion of the probe. Abid Sher Ali has asked the chairperson of Federal Board, Shaheen Khan to read the constitution of the board before the committee members, which had no such law to re-assess the marks. Abid Sher Ali also questioned the former chairman of the Board Commodore ( Retd) Muhammad S Shamshad as to why the marks were increased but the minister of education interrupted and didn't let him answer the question. The FSc. result of Farah Hameed Dogar was improved from 640 marks in Grade 'C' to 661 marks in Grade 'B', thus making her eligible to apply for admission into any medical college in the country. The committee would meet again Thursday (today) to take up the issue of alleged undue favour.

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