Justice Shakeel Ahmad authored the verdict, rejecting petitions filed by candidates who had failed to meet the required marks. The court emphasized that these candidates had no legal right to challenge the recruitment policy because applying for the process meant they accepted the eligibility criteria.

The Supreme Court affirmed that the Education Department’s 2017 recruitment policy is fully legal. It noted that courts cannot interfere in policymaking and that the provincial education minister has the authority to set recruitment rules under the rules of business. The earlier Peshawar High Court observation claiming that the minister’s directions had no legal status, was declared incorrect.

The court also criticized a lower court for ordering that the names of unsuccessful candidates be included in the merit list. According to the Supreme Court, the lower courts mistakenly relied on the 2014 policy, which had already been replaced by the valid 2017 policy.

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The petitioners had requested the Supreme Court to add their names to the merit list despite failing the NTS test, but the apex court rejected their plea.

This ruling clarifies that passing the NTS test with a minimum of 40 percent marks is mandatory for Primary School Teacher (PST) recruitment, ensuring that only eligible candidates are considered for teaching positions.