Principals & Principles

58  “failed” students get  into  Aitchison College” reads  a headline in the daily The News 18 April 2012. The story while  blaming  the Principal of the college for robbing  the eligible 58  candidates of their right to admission, also mentions about the influential support, mostly of the PPP bigwigs, that got the failures into the prestigious college. Poor Principal’s plight and helplessness to yield to the political mafia remind me of something similar of the years of the yore.  The year was 1974, the college - Edwardes College Peshawar and the principal – Mr. R H Noble. At the start of the admissions the  Provincial Education Minister of the then N.W.F.P - George Sikandar Zaman – walked into the office of the principal and wanted an out of the merit student  admitted to the FSc. (Med) class.  The principal explaining the college policy of adhering to the merit  declined t o oblige the minister. The semi literate minister, however, insisted and tried to exert his ministerial pressure. On this, the principal rose from his desk and donning his felt hat walked out of his office saying,  “Sir, You run the college, I am leaving”.  Completely baffled and deflated the perplexed minister didn’t know what to say or do and left the principal’s office totally dismayed but properly served.

I suppose the principals then had some principles!

Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)