PESHAWAR, Nov 9: Former principal of the City Government Higher Secondary School No 3 for Boys Ubaidullah Khan, who had exposed the issue of the sexual abuse of students, has been appointed as principal of the Utmanzi Government High School in Charsadda.

A notification was issued in this regard by the director (school and literacy) two days ago.

He was removed from his post last month and was directed to report to the department after the government transferred the entire staff of the said school.

It was learnt that some former employees of the school, including senior teachers, had been molesting students for over two decades but no other principal had the courage to put an end to their activities.

It was learnt that Mr Khan had not only begun monitoring activities of certain teachers, clerks and school guards but had also banned their presence in the school premises after school timings and holidays.

Prior to his appointment to the school, the said gang of school employees were said to remain on school premises till night and they frequently visited the school even during holidays.

He had gone on to inform the parents’ inquiry committee in September about activities of these employees. Similarly, he also informed a sub-committee of the NWFP Assembly, constituted for inquiring into the matter, about the activities of the said employees.

Five of the gang members were suspended last month by the government for a period of three months.

The removal of the principal last month had surprised many as some teachers’ association, bent on saving their colleagues who were involved in molesting students, were trying their level best to get rid of him from the post. For them, Mr Khan had become a source of embarrassment for openly naming elements involved in immoral activities.

Mr Khan said that the school’s education standard, which had deteriorated so much that only 16 per cent to 18 per cent of students passed matriculation examination, had improved considerably with 60 per cent passing the crucial exams.

One of the former teachers of the said school told Dawn that he had informed two former principals about the ongoing immoral practice, but both of them had done nothing just because they did not want to create problems for themselves.