I’m not interested to become female college principal"
New principal of Govt Degree College for Girls Booni Muhammad Dost has said he is not interested to become female college principal.
Talking to ChitralToday, Mr Dost said he had received the notification about two months ago but was still reluctant to take charge despite insistence by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MPA Sardar Hussain.
“This is absolutely baseless that I’m interested in the slot or have been lobbying for it. I received the notification two months back and MPA Sardar Hussain is compelling me to go there from Chitral,” he added. He also said he had no affiliation with any political party and the reports of his being a diehard PPP activist carried no weight.
Mr Dost said Hasina Wajid, the acting principal of the college, had failed to look after the construction work underway on the premises of the college. He said she had failed to run the college due to the lack of experience.
“The day my notification was issued, these people started spreading propaganda against me out of fear as they’ve been running the college just like a dispensary. And I’m a 58-year-old man and will run it like a proper educational institution as I’ve been into teaching for the last 35 years,” he maintained.
To a question, he said he was not interested at all to go there but now after people started intimidating him, he has decided to proceed with the gigantic task to turn the poorly managed Booni girls’ college into a pioneer institution. Mr Dost also said before Sardar Hussain, former MPA Ghulam Muhammad had also been requesting him in complete good faith to take over as the principal of the girls’ college, as he had the experience of teaching at top colleges of the province. “Before Sardar Hussain, it was Ghulam Muhammad who requested me several times to take over as principal of the college. Faizur Rehman, a close aide of the former MPA, is witnessed to it. All political parties had agreed over my candidature,” he maintained.
To another question, he said Professor Masood Ahmed was the coordinator principal of all the colleges, both male and female, in Chitral, adding under his supervision the colleges had improved to a great extent. “We must stop following the ideology of controversial Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz and work hard for the betterment of our area, our children, especially girls, and that is not possible unless we give up the negative approach,” he added.
However, background discussions with some of the female teachers who wished not to be named showed that it was sheer incompetence of the local political leadership both PPP and PTI who have to overcome the shortage of teachers. They said that local political leadership had miserably failed to bring a full-time principal – a grade 20 officer – and instead were busy in torturing the female teachers posting them out without any reason which badly affects the performance of the girls’ colleges. They said that there was not a single teacher who qualified to head a girls’ degree college but even then unnecessary reshuffling of female teachers for political point scoring has become a routine matter to hide their own weaknesses.
“Why a female teacher would opt to take the job at the ‘Junali Koch Shotar’. Neither there is residence for female staff, nor they’re entitled to other perks and privileges of a principal and you’ve to look after the whole institution just being a so-called head,” they lamented. The acting principal, Hasina Wajid, could not be reached despite several attempts at her cell number as well as at her residence telephone numbers both at Charun and Sinlasht till filing of this report. MPA Sardar Hussain also remained unavailable on phone and did not reply to text messages sent by this reporter for comments on the issue.
Media trial of professor Muhammad Dost posting at Girls Degree College Booni is something very astonishing. In his reply professor Dost said that he had never been aspirant for the position any way and government assigned the responsibility to him and he has to obey it as government servant. It is also pertinent to mention here that majority of female teacher of that area Booni and other vicinity do not want to work there and they have transferred to Girls College Chitral which has not been taken notice by anyone and there is already shortage of female staff in the college. If female teacher of Sub-Division Mastuj would work there at Booni college instead of Girls College Chitral there will not be shortage of staff and that has not experienced since establishment of the college. The college is running without principal for the last many years and there is also construction work going on in the college which is also to be monitored by full-time principal and at the same time female teachers of Sub-Division Mastuj have transferred themselves to Girls College Chitral. In this circumstance Professor Dost has been posted there to fill the gap and media trial of this purely administrative matter is very astonishing.
We must appreciate the efforts of all the lecturers and acting principal of GGDC Booni for running the college properly.I am very surprised to see the comments of Mr.Dost that the college is poorly administered.The people of the area are well satisfied from the college administration.I think that the 58 years old gentleman is not in his senses as he has started blaming the college. khisiyani billi khamba nocha..
Actions speak louder than words. You are still very young and energetic even at late fifties.