Punjab: ‘Best principal’ award winner made OSD for refusing out of merit admissions

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Local politicians question govt claims of ‘good governance’

Staff Report

RAWALPINDI: Local politicians have strongly criticized the Punjab Education Department for acting against the principal of a local women college, Mrs Waseem Sikandar, for refusing to accommodate a list of girls for admission in violation of merit. Senior Vice President of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Kabir Ali Wasti said this had exposed the so-called good governance of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. “The principal has been made an OSD despite the fact that she had received the award of the best principal of the Punjab in 2008. She had also been declared best principal of Rawalpindi on October 5 (the Salam Teacher Day),” Wasi said. He said the only charge against her appeared to be that she had refused to consider for admission a list of students provide by the PML-N MNA Hanif Abbasi as it was in violation of the principles of merit. “This has exposed the so-called good governance of Shahbaz Sharif. I condemn politicizing of the educational institutions.” Sources in Directorate of Education also confirmed that it had been done at the behest of the PML-N MNA who had allegedly threatened the principal of consequences for not accommodating the girls of his constituency for admission. Pakistan Awami League (PAL) president and former Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said it was now an open secret that the PML-N MNAs and MPAs were influencing all government servants and meddling in the affairs of different departments. Daily Times made several attempts to contact MNA Hanif Abbasi for his comments on the allegations against him but he was not available. The change was made so swiftly that while Mrs Sikandar was in a meeting outside the college the new principal came and took over on the orders of the Punjab government. Mrs Sikandar had joined Government Post-graduate College for Women, Satellite Town, as principal in 2005.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg11_2