LAHORE: Aitchison College Principal Michael Thomson on Thursday withdrew his resignation and would continue with his work in the college.

Mr Thomson had tendered his resignation on Wednesday allegedly under pressure from political circles for taking disciplinary action against some students.

Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar called Mr Thomson and held meeting at his office to convince him to withdraw his resignation. Mr Thomson announced taking back his resignation after meeting with the governor.

Mr Sarwar said the government believed in merit and admissions in educational institutions should be made on merit-based criterion.

He said Aitchison College’s organisational sanctity and repute would be maintained at every cost and asked Mr Thomson to continue with his work without any influence. He said the Governor House would continue to support him and the institution.

According to reports, the principal was facing pressure from the Board of Governors of the college to give admission to son of former MNA Kashmala Tariq in A-level.

Ms Tariq’s son Azlan Khan, an O-level student, and his 11 other classmates were expelled from the institution by the discipline committee after a minor scuffle with fellow students.

A video of the incident posted on different social media websites and aired by news channels showed that some 12 students had a minor scuffle with two other students and Ms Tariq’s son could be seen standing in the group.

The college administration had given the 11 students admission in A-level and turned down request of Azlan Khan, who had won several national and international swimming championships.

Meanwhile, the family and friends of Ms Tariq had announced protest outside the Governor House on Sept 16 against the college administration for not giving admission to Azlan Khan.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2018