THE decision by the Board of Governors of Edwardes College, the
only Church of Pakistan college, to remove its Principal, the Revd
Dr Titus Presler, has been challenged in court by the diocese of
Peshawar.
Two court hearings have taken place so far, and the next is
scheduled to take place on 20 May, Dr Presler said on Tuesday.
"According to Bishop Humphrey and according to a resolution
passed by the Executive Committee of the diocese of Peshawar, I
continue to be Principal of Edwardes College," he said, from the
United States. "My return to Peshawar depends on the situation
being resolved, which means the outcome of the court case, the
restoration of the College to the diocese, and the provision of
adequate security."
Last month, Professor Gulzar Jalal Yousafzai, assistant
professor of English, said that Dr Presler had been "terminated" as
Principal on 26 December, by the Board of Governors.
"The Board of Governors is a competent authority for all the
decisions and matters of the college," he said. The Board had "the
right to appoint the academic and qualified managers. No religious
fanatics!"
Last month, the Bishop of Peshawar, the Rt Revd Humphrey Peters,
said that the diocese would "fully support" Dr Presler, and that
the decision of the Board had been motivated by "religious
intolerance".
"Our desire is that he should be reinstated as he is the best
Principal, at least that I have seen," he said. "Within a very
short period of time he has contributed a lot, and my other hope is
that . . . the Church should be allowed to run its own
institution."
Edwardes College was founded in 1900 by the Church Missionary
Society, and has been owned by the Lahore Diocesan Trust
Association since 1956. Of its 2950 students, 92 per cent are
Muslim, and seven per cent Christian; among the 105 faculty members
the percentages are similar. Dr Presler had been trying to secure
degree-awarding status for the college, the head of the college's
sponsoring body, the diocese of Peshawar, becoming the Chancellor
(News, 22 February).
