Edwardes College: staffers threaten protest if demands not met

PESHAWAR: The faculty and staff members of Edwardes College on Monday threatened to launch a protest movement if their demands were not accepted.

The demands include the removal of the college principal and convening the meeting of the Board of Governors (BoG) to resolve crisis at the historic college in accordance with the verdict of the Peshawar High Court (PHC). Speaking at a news conference here, Prof Dr Gulzar Jalal, Prof Ijaz Ahmad, Prof Naveed, Prof Shah Jehan and others said the BoG has been running the affairs of Edwardes College for the last four decades.

However, they said that some elements with vested interest were bent upon damaging the college. They said serious allegations of nepotism and financial and administrative irregularities have been levelled against the principal.

The teachers said that the BoG meeting was convened on March 8, 2019 but the college principal and the Diocese of Peshawar refused to attend it and filed a writ petition in the PHC against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

The faculty members said that the BoG was the only forum to resolve the problems of Edwardes College and restore its educational standards. They asked the government to remove the sitting principal of the college, alleging that he was misusing his powers.

The professors and faculty members also staged a protest demonstration outside the Peshawar Press Club to urge the government to accept their demands.

Carrying banners, the protesters chanted slogans in support of their demands.

Movement of wheat banned

Deputy Commissioner Peshawar, under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, has prohibited the movement of wheat, wheat flour and wheat fine

flour from outside the territorial jurisdiction of the district.

Any one contravening this order will be liable to be proceeded against under Section 188 of Pakistan Penal code, said a communiqué.

“The order shall come into force immediately, and shall remain in force for a period of 30 (thirty) days,” it added.