Aitchison College staff announce protest for Thompson’s reinstatement

ISLAMABAD: The faculty and staff of Aitchison College have announced to stage a protest outside the Governor House on Tuesday, seeking the of Michael A Thompson, who resigned as principal on Monday following disagreements with the Punjab governor over alleged interference in the affairs of the esteemed institution.

Sources said that the Aitchison College staff has scheduled a peaceful gathering outside the Governor House on Tuesday.

Michael A Thompson tendered his resignation on Monday, citing “prejudiced actions by Governor House” and referring to them as “unwarranted interference and brazen directives”.

Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman, acting as chairman of the Board of Directors of Aitchison College, issued a directive on March 21 to waive tuition fees for the two sons of Minister for Economic Affairs and Establishment Ahad Cheema.

In a letter addressed to the college staff, a copy of which has been obtained by HUM News English, Thompson stated: “This is not how I planned to leave Aitchison, but I will share with you that a continuation of very poor governance has left me no other choice. Throughout my time as principal, I have done my very best to protect the school’s reputation while extending compassion to those in need.”

However, Thompson asserted that there was a distinction between this endeavor and the “blatant policy manufacturing to accommodate certain individuals”, emphasizing that “such people simply insist on preferential treatment”.

“Politics and nepotism have no place in schools,” Thompson emphasized.

“Over the past year, other prejudiced actions by Governor House have contributed to a breakdown of governance and management, under which I had to finally draw a line.

“It seems incredulous to me, and quite possibly to most other people, that a school so successful can be subjected to such unwarranted interference and brazen directives,” he added.

“I leave on April 1 and will not play any role in the management of upcoming admissions,” Thompson stated.

It should be noted that Thompson had previously tendered his resignation in September 2018, allegedly under pressure from political circles to take disciplinary action against some students.

The principal was facing pressure from the Board of Governors of the college to admit the son of former MNA Kashmala Tariq to A-levels after he had been expelled earlier.

However, he later rescinded the resignation after then-Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar and the provincial education minister visited him to convince him to do so.

Two months prior to that, the government had revoked Thompson’s visa, an Australian citizen, allegedly because he had denied admission to a boy from an influential family.

Subsequently, the visa was only extended for three months, despite his job contract having more than a year left before expiration.

Meanwhile, the federal information minister commented on the matter, stating that the children had not been enrolled at the institution for the past three years.

On the other hand, during an appearance on the Geo News, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema questioned the issue with the governor’s order if his matter was set aside.

Cheema contended that the governor had devised a “general policy” for everyone, adding that it was a “presumption” that the governor’s new policy was framed because of him. He argued that the issue should be discussed on merit.

Cheema alleged that the principal had directly approached him twice to resolve the matter regarding his children and not “agitate it at the policy level”. Cheema added that he had refused the offer both times.

The minister stated that he could provide the names of the individuals through whom he was approached and offered.