Call to Scrap College Head's Transfer order

Teachers back Presidency principal, say he did commendable job within a short time

CHENNAI: Coming out in support of Mohamed Ibrahim, the principal of Presidency College, Chennai, who was transferred to Vellore on Friday apparently due to continuing incidents of student clashes, the Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers Mandram has appealed to CM J Jayalalithaa to rescind the transfer order. 

Mohamed Ibrahim was transferred after repeated incidents of student clashes, the latest on September 9.  According to academicians, Ibrahim had always been insisting that the police take stern action against the students indulging in violence and hooliganism. Noting that there were repeated instances of violence involving students from city colleges including Presidency, Nandanam Arts, Pachaiyappa’s and New College, especially in the last couple of years, they accused the police of being a ‘mute witness’.

“The principal of a college is helpless and cannot do anything when his students indulge in hooliganism outside the campus,” pointed out GCTM president P Sivaraman in a statement on Sunday.

In fact, during the latest incident of violence on September 9 that reportedly led to his transfer, Ibrahim was attending a meeting with police and transport department officials at the Pallavan House, as bus route rivalry has been the main cause of clashes in the recent past. During his short stint as principal of the trouble-ridden college, Ibrahim had been performing commendably, ensuring that there were no student strikes or boycott of classes. His efforts led to the UGC Committee on Autonomous Status Review recommending to the UGC to offer a special one-time  grant of `155 crore to the college. The Department of Science and Technology had also sanctioned `82.50 lakh for developing science departments, while a private company had promised `1 crore fund to the college.

An RO water treatment plant was set up, and the bell in the historic Clock Tower started ringing again after a long gap of 25 years. “To top it all, Ibrahim managed the genuine democratic aspirations of the students, and conducted student union elections peacefully as per Lyngdoh Commission recommendations and the Supreme Court Order,” Sivaraman said.

“The best way of addressing the issue is certainly not transferring a performing principal, who identified himself wholly with the task of restoring complete normalcy on his campus,” the statement added, urging CM J Jayalalithaa to rescind the transfer order.

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