Cheema declines fee waiver for children

LAHORE: Following a dramatic turn of events at the Aitchison College, tensions escalated on Tuesday as parents of students staged a peaceful demonstration outside the college, while a meeting of the old boys association also expressed concerns over the unfolding developments.

On March 21, Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman, in his capacity as President of the Board of Governors (BoG) of Aitchison College, had ordered the waiver of fees for the sons of Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema based on a representation filed by Mrs Saima Ahad Cheema.

On Monday, Michael A. Thomson, the Principal of Aitchison College, resigned in protest over what he alleged was “blatant policy manufacturing to accommodate certain individuals”.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister Ahad Cheema, in a letter addressed to the Punjab governor and President of Aitchison’s Board of Governors (BoG) on Tuesday, stated that he did not want to avail of the fee waiver facility for his children.

“I would, however, strongly urge you to please not relent on the principle and not withdraw the new policy under any nefarious pressure, since the policy is going to be very helpful for students and their parents in times to come,” he wrote in his letter, a copy of which is available with The News.

Ahad Cheema further wrote that his spouse had worked hard for this cause for more than a year and a half.

“I also want to put this on record that on various occasions, the principal of Aitchison College offered us individual relief on the quiet side. This was communicated through some respectable people who were aware of the matter. I also want to state that we refused to take any under-the-table deal,” he alleged, adding that they (Cheema and his spouse) refused upfront because they believed in sticking to their principles.

“The basis of the applications made to your office lay in our belief that what we were seeking was fair, appropriate, and in the public interest, to improve upon an iniquitous policy framework that discriminated between rich and not-so-rich parents,” Cheema further wrote.

Earlier, the Aitchison College Old Boys Association (ACOBA) convened its central executive committee and, while expressing deep concern, the committee protested against the ‘unilateral order’ of March 21 regarding the fee waiver.

“The Central Executive Committee of ACOBA and the alumni body strongly urge the President of the Board of Governors to rescind the said controversial order immediately as it has landed a school of impeccable repute into unnecessary controversy,” reads the ACOBA letter addressed to the president of BoGs.

It is also worth mentioning that the monthly tuition fee for K1 to K5 at Aitchison College is Rs55,900, and the annual tuition fee for Ahad Cheema’s two sons was Rs1,341,600.

Earlier in the morning, dozens of parents of the students staged a peaceful protest outside the Aitchison College. They carried placards inscribed with slogans in support of the principal while also chanting slogans and demanding an end to alleged political interference in the college.

Meanwhile, according to a handout issued on Tuesday night, Governor Balighur Rehman approved 28-day ex-Pakistan leave of Michael A. Thomson. “In the absence of the principal of Aitchison College, Amna Kamran and Khalid Noon Barsar will look after the administrative affairs in his place,” reads the handout issued by the Governor’s House.