Govt college teachers demand principal’s ouster

Principal says surplus teachers behind protest.

HARIPUR:

Faculty members of Government Postgraduate College Haripur, on Thursday, staged a protest against the principal and demanded his transfer, accusing him of corruption.

The teachers boycotted classes and vowed to continue the protest till their demand is fulfilled.

The protesting teachers, who are members of Pakistan College Teachers’ Association, accused the college principal, Shahjehan, of “committing moral and financial corruption” in the affairs of the institute.

They claimed that the principal’s “wrong policies” have affected the academic environment of the college, and “only his immediate transfer will the save the future of over 1,200 students” of the institute.

Shajehan rejected the allegations, saying they were baseless and an attempt to defame him. He said most of the teachers were protesting because they had been transferred following the launch of BSc programmes in the college.

The principal explained that under the national education policy, four-year BSc programmes in 11 departments were launched in the college two years ago and additional teachers were hired on contract.

However, when the provincial higher education department did not approve the Islamic Studies, History, Geography and Urdu departments, 10 teachers were rendered surplus.

The surplus teachers have not been taking classes and were drawing salaries for doing nothing for the past year, said the principal.

He claimed that after he wrote a letter to director colleges Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), requesting him to transfer the surplus teachers, they got infuriated and began levelling baseless allegations.

The college has a total of 82 teachers, of whom 60 are permanent and the rest are hired on contract.

Replying to a question, Shahjehan said that the teachers who have served for over 18 years will not lose their jobs and will be adjusted in colleges in Khanpur and Ghazi, where they could teach higher secondary-level courses.

When contacted, K-P Director Colleges Prof. Qasim Marwat said he was negotiating with the college teachers and the principal to resolve the issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2012.