Principal Aitchison College Mr. Michael A. Thomson resigned from his post today, four months prior to when he was due to leave. In a letter dated 25th March 2024, he wrote that he would leave on April 1 and would not be playing any role in the management of upcoming admissions.
The resignation comes after a prolonged confrontation with Governor Punjab Baligh Ur Rehman over the matter of the waiver of tuition fee two students, sons of Ahad Cheema, a former senior Punjab bureaucrat and current Federal Minister for Economic Affairs.
In the letter he writes, “Throughout my time as principal, I have done my very best to protect the school’s reputation while extending compassion to those in need. However, there is a crucial difference between this pursuit and blatant policy manufacturing to accommodate certain individuals because such people simply insist of preferential treatment. Politics and nepotism have no place in school.”
He goes on to say, “Over the past year, other prejudiced actions by Governor House have contributed to a breakdown of governance and management, under which I had to finally draw a line”.
Thomson, who joined as Principal in 2016 is serving his third term and did not seek another extension this year owing to retirement plans. He had told the school’s Board of Governors (BoG) to begin searching for his replacement and also offered to stay on for a complete year to work alongside the new principal for a smooth transition.
The Ahad Cheema case
Ms Saima Ahad, wife of Ahad Cheema and the mother of two students enrolled at Aitchison, namely Eisa Ahad Cheema and Mustafa Ahad Cheema in grades 4 and 2 respectively, wrote to Mr. Thomson on 4-10-2022 and then again on 01-06-2023 with regards to the reservation of seats and leave of absence for her two sons and a waiver of the fee.
A bureaucrat herself, Mrs Cheema was transferred to Islamabad from Lahore and submitted that being a ‘salaried individual with limited resources’ could not afford to pay the tuition fee of both her sons to two different schools, Aitchison College and the school they would be going to in Islamabad.
Mr. Thomson denied the request stating it would be a loss of revenue to the school. The Executive Committee of the BoG deliberated on the matter on 11-11-2022 and upheld the principal’s decision on the matter.
Following this, on 14-11-2022 the College authorities decided to permanently withdraw one of the students, Eisa Ahmad Cheema for non-payment of dues.
This was followed by multiple meetings of the management committee (MC) to formulate a workable nuanced policy on the granting of leave of absence to students in specific circumstances.
However, while these deliberations were ongoing inconclusively, Governor Punjab Rehman in his capacity as President BoG passed and order on 09-06-2023, directing the Principal not to ‘proceed further’ with the matter since the policy was under review. Additionally, he ordered that any decision taken in the past in such cases, including that of Mrs Cheema’s sons, were to be ‘held in abeyance’.
However, as per Mrs Cheema’s letter dated 17-08-2023, she stated that the Principal, on 10-08-2023 withdrew her other son, Mustafa Ahad Cheema, as well, for non-payment of dues. The principal essentially disregarded the orders passed by Governor Rehman.
The matter lingered on and matters became tense and confrontational between the Principal and the Governor. After much to and fro, an extraordinary meeting of the BoG was called on 16-02-2024 that the Principal was also invited to attend but chose not to.
Read the complete order here
Earlier this month, Governor Rehman requested Mrs Cheema to appear before him on 16-03-2024 to hear her case in full, in person. Following this, the Governor House issued a 6-page order that chronologically explained the case and ends with the Governor overruling the Prinicipal’s original decision to not grant a waiver, by granting a complete fee waiver to Mrs Cheema for a period of three years.
Additionally, the withdrawal notices of both children were also set aside. Moreover, the Principal was ordered to grant the same fee waiver for a maximum of three years to any future applications of a similar nature.
‘Terrible decision’
The unilateral decision taken by the Governor has not gone down well with sections of the BoG nor the parent body. In a letter to the BoG dated 23-03-2024, the Principal has called the Governor’s order “not only a terrible decision but a wrong perpetrated on a larger scale to suit a smaller outcome”. He goes on to state that Mr Cheema is a “bad debtor”.
From a long term perspective, he states that the decision “imposes on management no ability to replace lost enrolments/revenue while retaining minimum class sizes going forward”. He mentions that because there is only one admission session per year, this decision will have considerable damage on the school in the long term as parents take advantage of the new rule allowing a 100% fee waiver for a maximum of three years.
He ends this letter to the BoG by stating that he will not be attending the G30 conference next month in the UK on behalf of the school.
Policy at other institutions
Most private schools in Lahore such as Lahore Grammar School and Beaconhouse allow students to take a long leave of absence while retaining their seat, up to a varying maximum time period depending on each school franchise, so long as the fee is paid in full each month.
LUMS being a university has a different method but the monetary aspect is similar. The university allows a bachelor program of 4 years to be completed in 6 years. Students can opt to not take up one or multiple semesters for whatever reason and not pay for that quarter. But in order to secure a degree they must complete all course credits required to graduate within 6 years. The semesters they intend to attend, the must pay for.
Parents displeased
Most parents are displeased about both Mr. Thomson leaving and the Governor overruling the Principal’s decision.
“The preferential treatment being given to a Federal Minister who was a blue-eyed boy of the current Prime Minister when he was CM Punjab is outrageous. It should be the principal’s prerogative to decide on such matters. The BoG should make a policy with consensus. Who is the Governor to take such a unilateral decision on such sensitive matters”, a parent, of an Aitchisonian student, on condition of anonymity, commented while speaking to Pakistan Today.
“Mr Thomson has turned around Aitchison in the past 8 years. He has a unique ability to to raise funds from old boys and institutions that can be seen being spent on the school. The renovation of the Old Building, new squash and tennis courts are and example, not to mention the additional housing for boarders that was constructed under him. He is an asset that will be missed”, said another parent.
Pakistan Today made multiple attempts for a comment from both the Governor Punjab and Ahad Cheema but there was no response from either.
