ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that a score of 40% on the NTS test is a mandatory requirement for eligibility, thereby overturning a previous order from the Peshawar High Court regarding the recruitment of Primary School Teachers (PST).
In a written judgment, Justice Shakil Ahmed of the Supreme Court dismissed petitions that sought the recruitment of candidates who had not passed the NTS test. The court stated that candidates who fail to meet the eligibility criteria in the test do not have the legal right to challenge the recruitment policy in court.
The court emphasized that once a candidate participates in the recruitment process, they cannot object to the eligibility standards, and legal remedies will not be available following failure in the test. Additionally, the decision confirmed the legality of the 2017 education department policy, reiterating that courts do not interfere in policy-making matters.
The ruling also corrected the Peshawar High Court’s observation that the directives of the Minister of Education had no legal standing. The Supreme Court clarified that the Provincial Education Minister is authorized under the Rules of Business to establish recruitment standards. The trial court had mistakenly ordered the inclusion of failed candidates on the merit list, relying on the annulled 2014 policy instead of the valid 2017 policy.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court stated that courts lack the authority to intervene in recruitment standards or policies. This ruling followed requests from petitioners for the inclusion of candidates who scored below 40% on the NTS test in the merit list.
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