Aitchison’s Governors vote against principal

LAHORE:

The Aitchison College Board of Governors, decided in its meeting on Tuesday, to oust the principal, Dr Agha Ghazanfar, The Express Tribune has learnt. Requesting anonymity, a BoG member said several administrative issues had emerged between the principal and rest of the staff.

“Several irreconcilable differences emerged within the institution which the board took cognisance of,” he said. A 200-page document outlining evidence against the principal was submitted by vice principals, headmasters and 15 other staff members.

The principal is currently out of the country. Earlier this month, Dr Ghazanfar had told The Express Tribune that he was under immense pressure from influential quarters regarding admissions. He had said this year the admission process had been fair and transparent as merit lists were made public.

Mustafa Ramday, a member of the BoG, said the decision was based on petty issues.  “I strongly disagree with the decision made by the majority of the board,” he said. He said the school had ensured transparent admissions this year and none had been challenged. Last year, he said, around 70 writ petitions challenging the admissions had been filed. Calling the decision unfortunate, he said a wrong precedent was being set.

He said a controversy had been created surrounding admissions even though the chief minister had strongly directed the principal to ensure merit. “The principal only followed the admission policy as defined by the Board which made merit the only factor,” he said. Tuesday’s was the fourth meeting held by the Board since June to discuss the appointment of the principal. They had earlier met on June 8, June 15 and June 22. Dr Ghazanfar was appointed seven months ago. The institution’s website still lists him as the principal.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 29^th, 2015.