High Court Declares DPE’s Restriction on Scholarship Exam ‘Illegal,’ Private School Students Can Participate
The High Court has declared the decision by the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE), which restricted participation in the Primary Scholarship Examination solely to students of government educational institutions, as illegal.
The High Court Bench, composed of Justice Md. Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Rezaul Karim, issued the ruling on Monday (November 3rd), following the final hearing of a writ petition. Barrister Muntasir Ahmed, the lawyer for the petitioner, confirmed the matter on Tuesday (November 4th).
High Court Directives
The Court instructed the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education and the DPE to organize the scholarship examination in accordance with the Primary Scholarship Examination Policy of 2008, thereby allowing students from private educational institutions to participate.
Background of the Writ Petition
• DPE Memo: On July 17th, the DPE issued a memo stating that only students from government educational institutions would be allowed to sit for the Primary Scholarship Examination.
• Challenge: Forty-two individuals, including Md. Faruq Hossain (Director of Keraniganj Public Laboratory School), teachers, and guardian representatives, challenged the validity of this decision by filing a writ petition.
• Initial Ruling: On September 2nd, the High Court issued a rule, temporarily suspending the operation of the July 17th memo. The rule questioned why the memo should not be declared legally without authority and why the authorities should not be directed to organize the exam based on the 2008 policy.
• Final Ruling: Following the final hearing on Monday, the Court made the rule absolute, delivering the final verdict against the DPE’s restrictive memo.
The government primary school scholarship examination for 2025 is scheduled to be held from December 21st to 24th.
