New Delhi: Pakistan’s elite are angry at the Punjab government after the principal of Aitchison College resigned citing “prejudiced actions by Governor House”.
The institute, which is similar to one of the elite schools in India like Doon School and boasts of alumni such as former Prime Minister Imran Khan, is now embroiled in an elite vs elite saga and the internet is rife with controversies and conspiracies about what went down.
Days after Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s invitation as the chief guest to the college was rescinded due to protests by students and parents chanting slogans in support of Imran Khan, Michael Thompson, the first foreign principal appointed since Independence, resigned Tuesday evening citing “unwarranted interference and brazen directives”.
His move purportedly was against Punjab Governor Baligh Ur Rehman’s decision to waive tuition fees for the sons of Minister for Economic Affairs and Establishment Ahad Cheema. The federal minister is considered to be close to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
‘Man of principle’
The controversy erupted after the governor allegedly changed rules specifically for Cheema’s children so that their spot at the school could be reserved, even when they had moved from Lahore to Islamabad. Cheema is also accused of allegedly coercing the principal into granting prolonged leaves and fee exemptions for his children, which Thompson is learned to have refused, according to the information available in Pakistani media.
Speaking to ThePrint, one of the protesting parents in Lahore, Sajida Mashhadi said that government interference in the school is “alarming” and such moves will have “financial repercussions” on other parents. She added that according to previous policy, students at Aitchison College could retain their seats for up to two years if they had valid reasons but there were no fee exemptions and the students had to appear for annual exams. However, the current policy change extends it up to three years for just one family.
Mashhadi alleged that the government was saying it would look in to Thompson’s assets as well before he leaves Pakistan.
“This will start a vicious cycle with long-term implications. The protests are symbolic. Thompson is an exceptional educationist, and the negative propaganda against him by the government needs to stop and issue an apology to him. Our principal is a man of principle,” she added.
Cheema was appointed as the PM’s Advisor on Establishment Division in 2023, following the appointment of Sharif as Prime Minister. Even though Sharif’s term ended and a caretaker government was in place, Cheema held on to his position until Sharif returned for a second term.
Cheema and his wife allegedly said that they were being asked by the school to pay fees for the 2 years which they would not be able to afford. The principal then refused to keep the seats and expelled them.
Despite numerous rounds of inconclusive debate on the college board, the governor’s administration unilaterally approved a rule modification and reversed the Cheema boys’ expulsion.
The principal’s resignation, now viral on social media, states that “politics and nepotism have no place in schools”. “Finally decided to draw a line” due to “breakdown of governance and management, reads Thompson’s letter available online.
Following his resignation, notable board member Syed Babar Ali also resigned from the board of directors and applauded Thomson’s work. “Unnecessary politicisation of administrative issues will destroy the fabric of this great institution,” former federal minister under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, Umar Saif wrote on X following Ali’s resignation.
Also read: India-Pakistan lesbian couple breakup leaves fans hopeless, ‘desi queer world in shambles’
Power play and politics
The uproar in Pakistan can be gauged by the fact that Cheema had to come on TV to defend the governor’s directives.
“What is wrong with the governor’s order? It is a fair and equitable order and a general policy. This policy should be seen for its merit. This policy has been in the talks for the past one and a half years. The principal still terminated our children’s admission despite the board’s approval. Noon League (PMLN) is not involved in any capacity with the board,” he said on the Geo News program titled Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath.
In a letter addressed to Rehman, Cheema also lauded the new policy for its fairness and equity, emphasising its departure from ‘elitist traditions’.
For the first time since its formation, Aitchison College changed its policy where children who earlier had to pay fees for retention of seats for up to 2 years, in case of migration, international transfers or religious studies such as Hifz-e-Quran or even vacations, now are exempted from the fees and can retain seats up to 3 years under the revised policy brought by the board after consideration and intervention of the governor of Punjab.
When Shahzeb Khanzada asked Cheema if the school had changed its policy simply because of his kids, he called it a presumption.
The minister alleged that Thompson had offered discreet solutions to the issue outside official channels, which his family declined on principle. He also complained that the governor’s order had sparked a “strange and pointless controversy, orchestrated by a principal” who had already resigned.
Meanwhile, protests outside the Governor House by former Aitchison College students and parents demanded Thompson’s reinstatement and expulsion of Cheema’s sons. The Aitchison College Old Boys Association voiced similar concerns in a letter to the college’s board president, urging adherence to established rules and the reversal of the controversial fee waiver, Dawn reported.
Destroying institutions
The issue also made a Pakistani paper weigh in on the issue of probity in public life. “What transpired reeks of a power play — a refusal to accept no for an answer. How much blame lies at the feet of the Cheemas, the governor, and his staff is debatable, but it is unacceptable to blame the widely acclaimed principal for his scrupulous equal enforcement of the rules,” an Express Tribune editorial read.
Social activist and professor, Taimur Rahman who is also an Aitchison alumni tweeted saying that the incident “demonstrates how the elite has destroyed all the institutions of Pakistan. Including the ones that serve the elite itself.”
Noted journalist Sami Abraham asserted in a video on X that this was a repercussion of Maryam Nawaz being declined the invite to the college.
“Remember, the Sharif khandaan does not believe in forgiving,” he added.