LAHORE -UNS: Parents of some Aitchison College students on Tuesday took to the street to express solidarity with the institute’s principal who resigned a day earlier (Monday).
Michael A Thompson tendered his resignation on Monday, citing nepotism and political interference as the reasons behind his decision.
Several parents gathered outside the Governor House and raised slogans demanding restoration of the principal of Lahore’s premier institution.
They also sought an impartial inquiry and reversal of, what they said, illegal measures of Governor Balighur Rehman.
A police contingent dashed to the Governor House to prevent violent backlash.
What happened on Monday?
The Aitchison College principal’s abrupt decision to quit came as a surprise. His extreme step appeared to have been triggered by Governor Balighur Rehman’s move to waive the tuition fees for the sons of PML-N leader Ahad Cheema.
According to media reports, Cheema’s wife had appealed to the Punjab governor to waive her sons’ fees.
Subsequently, the governor issued an order granting a three-year waiver on their fees.
“Politics and nepotism have no place in schools,” Thompson wrote in a letter issued to the college staff.
“Throughout my time as Principal, I have done my very best to protect the school’s reputation while extending compassion to those in need,” he said in the letter, adding that “there is a crucial difference between this pursuit and blatant policy manufacturing to accommodate certain individuals because such people simply insist on preferential treatment”.
Thompson asserted that “this is not how I planned to leave Aitchison”. He said that he would be stepping down from the principal’s post on April 1 and would not be playing any role in the management and admissions process.
Thompson had also tendered his resignation back in September 2018, allegedly under pressure from political circles due to disciplinary action taken against some students but he later withdrew the decision.
