Punjab Textbook Board: LHC issues notices to government, others

The Lahore High Court (LHC) here on Monday issued notices for June 3 to the Punjab government and other respondents in a petition challenging order of the caretaker chief minister Punjab refraining Punjab Textbook Board (PTB). The petitioner general secretary Punjab Textbook Board Employees Welfare Society, Mohammed Akhtar Sherani submitted that in 1971 West Pakistan Textbook Board was substituted by the Punjab Textbook Board.
Since its establishment, the PTB was used to get the manuscript of textbooks written through open competition and after scrutinising the same and getting approval from federal government published textbooks by itself or through private publishers. He added that after the 18th constitutional amendment, the subject of education has been devolved to the provinces, and the government of the Punjab has promulgated "The Punjab Curriculum Authority Act 2012" whereby the role of the PTB was curtailed but as per the provisions the PTB is also supposed to compete with any person in development and selection of textbooks.
He said Najam Sethi being the chairman of Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association filed a representation before the then chief minister Punjab on June 12, 2012 requesting to refrain the PTB from developing manuscripts for its own books. He said the CM took no action on the representation and the Punjab Curriculum Authority published an advertisement on April 10, 2013 inviting bids from private persons and agencies including the PTB on open competition.
In pursuance of the advertisement, the PTB also applied for competing with other publishers but misfortune of the petitioner that before the finalisation of the bid, Sethi, the complainant against the PTB, became the caretaker chief minister Punjab and bar the PTB from participating in the bid on an application getting it filed before himself through vice chairman of Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association Saleem Malik on April 18, 2013.
He said after the approval of the application, the Punjab Curriculum Authority re-advertised for inviting bids for the manuscripts on May 13 ousting the PTB from participating in the open competition. The petitioner said, this approval granted by the caretaker CM was illegal and unlawful and prayed to the court to set aside the advertisement of PCA dated May 13 and restore its advertisement dated April 10 last allowing the PTB to participate in open competition.