Principal's 'misbehaviour': Female students' cellphones snatched during protest

'Mobile phones were snatched on administration's behest to delete video of misbehaviour'

LAHORE: Just a day after the closure of the Minhaj girls’ hostel, female students of the University of Education (UoE) Bank Road Campus staged a protest against alleged misbehaviour of the principal on Monday.

While they were busy staging the demonstration, a man allegedly snatched mobile phones of the girls.

A large number of female students gathered at the main gate of the campus and protested against Principal Shagufta Andleeb’s behaviour with the students in the guise of maintaining discipline in the campus.



They chanted slogans against the principal and demanded that a befitting action should be initiated against her. The protesting students also recorded videos on their phones of the protest.

Earlier, more than 100 students had lodged a complaint to Punjab Governor Rafiq Rajwana about the alleged misbehaviour of the principal. The students had also carried out a signature campaign against the principal and claimed that the principal used unethical words and abused them in the name of discipline.

The letter to the governor was signed by 119 students but no action had been initiated against her.



Students, who asked not to be named, claimed that the university administration sent a man, identified as Nadeem, to their peaceful protest, who allegedly started snatching mobile phones of the students. They said that the suspect snatched five mobile phones from students and also asked for their passwords while threatening them.

The students said that the UoE guards also accompanied the man and forced the students to end the protest. They alleged that the administration wanted to delete pictures and videos of the misbehaviour of the principal and the administration from the phones of the girls and that was why they had snatched their mobile phones.

They said the administration closed the main gate of the university and were not allowing students to go outside. This created problems for the students as well as the parents, who had to wait in the scorching heat.



When contacted, UoE Spokesperson Shehryar Ahmed said that some teachers and students disliked the fact that the principal tried to ensure discipline at the campus. He alleged that some teachers were inciting students against the principal to create unrest at the campus.

To a question, he said that the university administration would definitely look into the matter and committees concerned would take appropriate action. He said that if there were any genuine demands, they would be met and if the purpose was to create unrest then action would be taken appropriately.

It is pertinent to mention here that the appointment of the principal, Shagufta Andleeb, created unrest among the teachers of the campus as it was claimed that her appointment was made against the rules. Some faculty members alleged that the vice chancellor appointed her, in violation of rules, bypassing three senior faculty members.