PESHAWAR: National Education Foundation (NEF) has out-rightly rejected the holding of 5th grade assessment examination through the education boards and demanded that the test should be made optional, instead compulsory, to immediate sort-out the solution of the issue. Addressing a news conference at press club on Monday, NEF Chairman Nazar Hussain said that the conducting 5th grade assessment test was contrary to the relevant clause of the provincial education secondary boards Act of 1995. According to clause no-10, he added that no secondary and intermediate education board, except grade-9 and Grade-10 examinations, was authorized to conduct such test. Under the rules, he further maintained the education boards had restricted to hold examination of children below 15. Nazar Hussain went on to say that private schools owners associations had attempted to sort-out of the solution of the issue through negotiation with authorities concerned, and put forward some recommendations in this regard. He suggested that the 5th grade assessment examination should be made optional, instead of compulsory, which would be best way to address the issue. Flanked by NEF Deputy Chairman from FATA, Murtaza Hussain, Syed Javed Shah, Alam Khan, Amir Khan Dawar, Hamayun Khan, Gul Wali Khan, and All Private Schools Association President, Shahid Wali Khattak, he urged the government to take pragmatic measures for bringing changes in the present secondary and intermediate education boards’ examination system, besides to ensure transparent and fair conduct of the examinations under the relevant educations boards in the province. NEF Chairman has commented the private education institutions are being faced with host of issues in FATA.