The decision to appoint a principal in The Public School’s case will now lie with the Sindh High Court (SHC). The case went to court after the warring parties were unable to reach a compromise despite government intervention.
The Public School is the oldest and biggest school and college in Hyderabad. It was established in 1965 and has at least 3,000 students. Last month, the school’s teachers and administrative staff fell into a disagreement with the chairman of the board of governors, Hameed Sindhi. This was because Sindh removed the oldest serving principal, Abbas Raza Abbasi, on the grounds that Abbasi had reached the age of retirement.
Sindhi’s appointment of Abdul Wahid Khan as the new principal angered the teachers and administrative staff. On May 16, the staff barged into Khan’s office and forced him out.
On May 21, the education secretary issued a notification that reinstated Abbasi as principal. He also named him chairman until a new board of governors could be put together.
Chairman Hameed Sindhi challenged the secretary’s authority. He said that, “the notification is of no legal effect” and asked that an injunction be issued against its implementation.
The court had proposed that the case be disposed of and the dispute be resolved by the education secretary in a week. However, the counsels’ arguments to the contrary necessitated a hearing.
The disturbance in the school has been going on for over a month. On Tuesday, a Hyderabad Circuit Bench comprising Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar told the two sides to submit their cases for hearing on May 31.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 25th, 2011.
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