' Muhammadan College of Education through MRs, Kubra Sherani, Principal, and Sherani Education Society (Registered) through Kubra Sherani its Secretary, filed this Constitution petition seeking a direction to register the institution of the petitioners as a private college and also allow the students admitted by the institution of the petitioners to appear as private candidates in PTC and CT examination, to be held by the Education Department. These directions were sought with the averments that educated citizens of Pakistan living in Toba Tek Singh consider it their duty to provide education to people and in this regard they considered that they should work in such a manner that they provide good teachers to the public. It is asserted that with this object, Sherani Educational Society, petitioner No,2, was formed in Toba Tek Singh. This Society started a College under the name and style of Muhammadan College of Education, petitioner No,1, which has Library for the students, good class rooms and very able and competent staff. The prospectus of the College, however, was not filed alongwith the petition though there was mention of the same in para. 2 of the petition. The petitioners, it is stated, submitted an application to the District Health Officer to visit the College so as to certify the sanitation conditions of the institution, visit was accordingly paid and a certificate was issued. This certificate has also not been filed alongwith this petition. It is also averred that an application for registration of the institution was submitted to the Director of Education, Faisalabad, who marked it to Director Education(s) who in turn on 11th December, 1990, informed the petitioner that he was not competent to register the institution under Registration Ordinance, 1989. Thereafter the petitioner statedly submitted an application on 1-1-1991 to the Director of Education (Colleges) for registration of the College. This application was also statedly returned to the petitioner with the direction that properly filled forms should be submitted.
It is also contained in the petition that Director Public Instructions (Colleges) on 3rd March, 1991 returned application to the petitioner with the direction to submit it to the Director, Public Instructions (Schools). The petitioners again on 20-4-1991 submitted an application to Director, Education (Schools) who remarked that he was not competent to register the petitioner's College. It is also averred that the petitioners submitted an application to the Secretary Education on 25- 41991 for permission to allow their students to appear in the PTC/CT examination pursuant to a new item appearing in the Press in which it was communicated that the Government has decided to allow the students who are studying in private institutions to appear in the aforesaid examinations but no reply was given to the said application. According to the petitioners yet another application was submitted to the Director, Education (Schools) on 8-7-1991 for the same permission and despite the fact that Director, Education (Schools) surveyed the petitioners' institution on 24th July, 1991, but no decision again was communicated. It is further stated that the petitioners faced with the aforenoted situation filed Writ Petition No,7145-91 in this Court which was disposed of by a learned Judge of this Court on 10-1-1991 with the observation that if the petitioner makes an application to the Director, Schools he will decide it within one week. The petitioner then submitted an application to Director, Public Instructions (Schools) who was pleased to reject the same on 1- 10-1991. This memo. Refusing the request of the petitioner was then challenged by filing the present Constitution petition.
2. The petitioners in this petition urged ground in respect of two matters viz. (1) the request to allow the students of the petitioner institution to appear in the examinations of PTC/CT and (2) request to register the petitioners' college as a private College. Learned counsel for the petitioners during arguments restricted his submissions to the question of refusal to register the institution only and preferred not to urge the other ground' pertaining to the question of allowing the students of the petitioners' institution to appear as private candidates in the said examination.
3. The request to register the petitioner institution was refused vide memo. Dated 1-10-1991. Relevant part of this memo. Reads as under:- "As regards registration of your College you are hereby informed that according to the Punjab Private Educational Institutions (Promotion and Regulation) Rules, 1984, there is no provision for the Registration of Privately Managed Training Institution.
' Hence your request for the registration of your Institution cannot be considered favourably."
' The factual assertions made in this respect are that Sherani Education Society started a College under the name and style of Muhammadan College of Education which has a huge library for students, good class rooms and very able and competent staff and that the petitioner is running the Institution where proper educational facilities are provided to the students, the curricular is finished before the examination and competent staff instructs them, the Director, Education (Schools) also visited the College, therefore, the petitioners institution should have been registered and failure to do so amounts to refusal to exercise jurisdiction vesting in them. It will be noted that even a copy of the prospectus of the College was not filed though there is a mention of the same in the petition, what to say of taking the Court into confidence as regards the courses of study, educational standard and the curricular statedly being maintained. The petitioner institution assertedly admitted students for preparing them to take PTC/CT examination. The Government has admittedly established institutions under the name and style of Government College for Elementary Teachers at various places in the Province for running courses of study for students who will be eligible to take PTC/CT examinations. Every such institution has its own school and the course of study in these teacher training colleges extends over 39 weeks and is attended by students who qualify the minimum standard prescribed by Government from time to time. In March, 1987 the Government of Punjab issued a circular conveying its decision to allow in service untrained teachers working in Government/Municipal/Registered Schools/Institutions to appear as private candidates in PTC/CT examinations provided they have teaching experience of at least 9 months in the above categories of schools. It was further stated therein that those possessing matriculation certificates will be eligible to appear in the PTC/CT examinations. It was under the aforesaid policy decision of the Government of the Punjab that in service untrained teachers who had teaching experience of at least 9 months in Government/Municipal or recognized schools were being allowed to appear as private candidates in PTC/CT examination. The petitioner institution obviously is not in a position to avail of the aforesaid policy decision as it was not even averred in the petition that students of the petitioner institution had worked in any Government/Municipal or recognised school or institution and had as such teaching experience of at least 9 months in any \of the aforesaid schools. It was not the case of the petitioners that the petitioner institution was running a school also which could work as a laboratory school so that the students admitted in their institution could get teaching experience of requisite 9 months as prescribed. It was for this reason that the challenge made to the refusal to allow students of the petitioner institution to take PTC/CT examination was not pressed.
4. Now the question whether the petitioner Institution is eligible to seek registration under the Punjab Private Educational Institutions (Promotion and Regulation) Ordinance, 1984, may be examined. The petitioner College was started by the Sherani Education Society to provide good teachers to the public. Nothing specific, however, has been stated as to the standard of education which was being imparted and as to the level of the teachers which this institution proposes to provide. The petition read as a whole shows that application was made to the authorities seeking permission for their students to appear in the PTC/CT examinations. It has already been demonstrated above that necessary conditions of eligibility for appearing as a private candidate were not met by the students of the petitioner institution as they had no teaching experience. So by merely attending the courses of study, the requisite conditions of eligibility were not fulfilled.
5. The position of the petitioner institution under the aforesaid Ordinance is no better. Section 2 of the Ordinance defines the words 'College', `Institution' and 'School' as under:--
(2) "College" means a college preparing students for intermediate, degree or post-degree level education in any system of education or medium of instruction;
(4) "Institution" means a privately-managed college or school or an institution notified as such by the Government;
(10) "School" means--
(a) a school, by whatever name called, preparing students from preprimary to high school education level;
(b) any other institution imparting vocational, commercial, technical or other specialized education leading to a degree, diploma or a certificate recbgnized by Government, University or a Board of Education, or
(c) an institution for the handicapped; ' The petitioner institution though named as a College on its own showing does not fall within the category of 'college' as defined in the A Ordinance as it is not preparing students for Intermediate, Degree or post-degree level education in any system of education or medium of instructions.
Learned counsel faced with this situation relied on the definition of 'school' as given above and argued that the petitioner institution was imparting vocational education leading to a certificate recognized by Government and as such the institution merited to be registered and the refusal made is arbitrary and illegal. Even this contention is without merit. It will be noted that for being admitted to PTC/CT examinations as a private candidate, besides possessing other qualifications one must have the teaching experience extending over a period of at least 9 months. The institution established by the petitioners did not have any arrangement for its students of gaining practical teaching B experience. It was not maintaining any laboratory in school where its students could impart education to other students. This institution did not have any arrangement with any recognised school or institution either where students admitted by it could go and teach students and as such equip themselves with the requisite teaching experience for 9 months. The courses of study, even if were satisfactorily conducted, do not amount to imparting education leading to a certificate (PTC/CT) recognised by the Government. This being the position the petitioner institution does not fall within the definition of the term 'college' or the term 'school' as defined in the Ordinance and as such it did not qualify to be registered under the said Ordinance. The refusal thus made vide memo. Dated 1-10-1991 by respondent No,2 cannot be termed as illegal or arbitrary. The type and kind of education which the petitioner institution was imparting was not such as would lead to PTC/CT certificate being granted by the Government.
' For the reasons given above there is no merit in this petition which is dismissed.