PESHAWAR: The conflict between the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and the governor has intensified over the appointment of principal of the 125-year-old Edwardes College, Peshawar.
The governor has already notified the appointment of a permanent principal, while the provincial government has approved a summary to take the college under its control.
Meanwhile, the Bishop of Peshawar has declared that the Church Mission Society (CMS) is the true parent body of Edwardes College and that neither the governor nor the chief minister has the right to alter the institution’s structure. He rejected any control of the governor or chief minister, saying the institution belongs to the Church.
The tug of war has had a direct impact on the academic standards of the college. Recent examination results have exposed the decline in performance. Edwardes College, established in May 1900, has always been regarded as a prestigious institution, but since 2019, the absence of a permanent principal and administrative disputes have badly affected the quality. In the 2025 first-year exams, 763 students failed across subjects: 317 in Physics, 237 in Mathematics, 79 in Chemistry, 55 in Biology, 40 in Computer Science, 15 in English, 5 in Islamiat, and 4 in Library Science. A smaller number of students failed in Civics, Islamic History, Ethics, Urdu, and Health and Physical Education. Educationists say these results are among the worst in the college’s history and prove that the administrative crisis and conflict between the governor and provincial government have directly damaged academic standards.
The Board of Governors had resolved on April 30, 2025, to appoint a permanent principal and directed the Higher Education Department (HED) to issue a notification. However, under pressure from the provincial government, the notification was blocked. Subsequently, on September 29, 2025, the governor exercised his powers and formally appointed Dr Yaqub Bangash as principal; however, HED ordered the vice principal to continue in office instead.
Against this backdrop, the provincial cabinet made a major decision on Thursday, stripping the governor of authority in college affairs and transferring these powers to the chief minister. This escalated the dispute further.
On the other hand, Bishop Humphrey Sarfraz Peters of Peshawar has expressed grave concern over placing Edwardes College under provincial government control. He said that since the provincial government does not provide any funds to the college, it cannot claim authority over it. He added that if the tussle continues, the institution’s historic reputation and the future of its students will be in serious jeopardy.
The Bishop said that the governor and chief minister are fighting to gain control of Edwardes College, but CMS is the true parent body of the institution. “We will not accept any changes to its current structure. I will soon call a press conference to explain the historic role of the Diocese of Peshawar. The current acting principal is playing a negative role and trying to create misunderstandings between the church and the government,” the bishop said.
Meanwhile, the provincial government maintains that Edwardes College, despite being historic, must function under provincial oversight for the sake of public interest and better administration. KP Higher Education Secretary Kamran Afridi told this correspondent that, according to the law, all educational institutions in the province come under the provincial government. He reminded that the provincial assembly has already passed an act bringing education institutions under the chief minister’s authority.
He said that the current chairmanship and constitution of the BoG, through notification by the then governor, is not legally tenable, as it lacks statutory backing.
The secretary says that the provincial government took over Edwards College under Regulation 18 of the Privately Managed Schools and Colleges Regulation, 1972. Upon the takeover of Edwardes College, Peshawar, by the then governor, it was placed under a BoG, and he appointed himself as chairman BoG through notification. However, the governor’s appointment as chairman without due legal process and statutory support renders the formation of the BoG questionable. He said the Governor’s Secretariat initiated the process for the appointment of the principal and later issued a notification in violation of the rules of Business and legal cover.
He said that upon the clarification of the current acting principal Edwardes College, it was intimated that the process of appointment of the principal should be halted until the legal process for the constitution of the BoG is approved by the cabinet.
Kamran Afridi said that a summary for the extension and further appointment of the chairman and BoG under Section 3 (1) & 4 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Education & Training Institutions Ordinance, 1971, was initiated and duly approved by the chief minister after obtaining legal input from the law department.
The same has been approved by the cabinet, and notification will be issued upon receipt of the cabinet meeting minutes.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has strongly defended his constitutional role as Chairman of the Board of Governors (BoG) of Edwardes College, insisting that the appointment of Dr Yaqub Bangash as regular principal was made strictly in accordance with law and the Supreme Court’s judgment of May 2024.
He told The News that the Governor’s Secretariat issued a formal notification on September 29, 2025, appointing Dr Bangash as principal after the BoG had unanimously decided on April 30 to end the long administrative vacuum at the historic institution.
“The Board is the only competent authority to run Edwardes College, and the Supreme Court of Pakistan has upheld this in clear terms,” Governor Kundi stated.
He criticised the provincial government for refusing to honour the BoG’s decision.
Reacting to the provincial cabinet’s decision to transfer the Governor’s powers over Edwardes College to the chief minister, Governor Kundi said such a move was unconstitutional and against the historic status of the college. “No provincial cabinet can overrule the Supreme Court of Pakistan or the legal authority of the Board of Governors,” he said. He further emphasised that Edwardes College has always been an independent institution under the Church Mission Society, with the governor serving as Chair of its BoG. “The role of the government is to facilitate education, not to create a tug of war over control,” he added.