Staff Reporter :
The High Court has instructed the authorities to allow students from private primary schools to sit for the government scholarship examinations, declaring a recent directive restricting participation to government school students as unlawful.
A High Court Division Bench comprising Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Rezaul Karim delivered the verdict on Sunday (3 November), ruling that the Directorate of Primary Education’s (DPE) circular issued on 17 July violated the 2008 Primary Scholarship Examination Policy.
The July circular had stated that only students of government educational institutions would be eligible for the scholarship test, excluding those from private and non-government schools.
The decision came following a writ petition filed by 42 individuals, including Md Faruk Hossain, director of Keraniganj Public Laboratory School, along with several teachers and guardians.
The petition challenged the legality of the DPE’s directive, calling it discriminatory and contrary to the existing policy framework.
On 2 September, after the initial hearing, the High Court had stayed the implementation of the July 17 circular and issued a rule asking why it should not be declared void and inconsistent with the law.
After a final hearing, the court made the rule absolute, directing the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education and the DPE to hold the scholarship examination in compliance with the 2008 policy, thereby ensuring participation of all eligible students regardless of their school’s status.
Advocate Niaj Morshed represented the petitioners before the court, while Muntasir Uddin Ahmed appeared for the DPE. Deputy Attorney General Syed Ejaj Kabir represented the state.
