LAHORE: Principal of Aitchison College, Lahore, Michael A. Thomson resigned from his post in protest on Monday after continuous political interference by the Governor of Punjab over the waiver of fines for the children of the federal minister.
According to the details, Michael Thomson resigned after differences with Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman on the issue of remission of fines of federal minister Ahad Cheema’s children. Along with announcing his resignation, the Aitchison College Principal wrote a letter to staff saying nepotism and politics have no place in schools.
The principal further wrote, “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, there is a crucial difference between this pursuit and blatant policy manufacturing to accommodate certain individuals because such people simply insist on preferential treatment.”
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Michael A. Thompson said, “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 that a school so successful can be subjected to such unwarranted interference and brazen directives.”
In another incident, the outgoing principal, Mr Thomson had earlier refused pressure to allegedly declare a former caretaker minister's son as the best leaving boy at Aitchison College. The principal informed some BOG members about it. The minister denies any such occurrence.
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“Due to extremely poor governance, I have no choice but to resign. I leave on April 1 and will not play any role in the management of upcoming admissions,” Aitchison’s Principal mentioned in the letter. Chairman of the Management Committee, Syed Babar Ali also rendered his resignation as the board member.
This is not the first case of political interference and nepotism that triggered Aitchison College’s Principal. Earlier, allegedly, a former female MNA got the principal’s visa revoked when he went on leave because her son was expelled from the college after a fight with a fellow student.
