The Institute of Business Management (IoBM) on Monday reversed its decision to expel a student, who accused the university’s transportation department of harassment and filed complaints against two senior faculty members, after the student body rallied in support of the said student.
The incident
About a month ago, the student in question, enrolled in the university’s BBA program, entered the IOBM transportation office to collect her ID card. Ten minutes later, she left the room in a panic, shaking and crying. She rushed to the HR department, where she said that Mr. S* and Mr. B* from the Transportation Office had tried to lock the door while she was there.
“[When I went to collect my card] They started looking at me strangely and kept looking me up and down. Then one of the men started recording me. The other man walked towards the door trying to lock it.”
The student only managed to escape because her classmates outside the office responded to her screams, allowing her to escape the room.
The human resources department heard the panicked student. Then I just told him it wasn’t their area because it wasn’t their department. The student was accused of “overreacting” and called a “liar.”
Confused, the student informed her family, went to two senior faculty members and told them what had happened.
“Aggressive behavior”
At first, the two teachers comforted her. However, when his enraged brother arrived, the assurances turned to anger at the student.
A heated argument broke out between the student’s family and university staff, with the human resources department denying having been informed of the matter.
According to the student, the university administration blamed her, accusing her and her family of “having behaved aggressively towards the administrative staff.” They used this as grounds for expulsion, when in reality, the student insists, it was the staff who had behaved badly towards her family.
In the days that followed, the student was summoned before a disciplinary committee, where she was accused of misconduct and harassment of senior faculty members.
She was “permanently expelled”.
“After careful deliberation, the Committee has determined that you are guilty of misconduct with staff members of three offices of the Institute, namely Transportation, Human Resources and Academics. Your behavior has created a chaotic situation in the above respective offices,” the expulsion email read.
Students respond
On October 22, the student took to social media. Detailing the events at the transportation office and her subsequent expulsion, she posted to an informal campus group.
The message quickly gained traction and was widely shared among the student body. His peers expressed support and galvanized against the administrator, rallying the next day in front of the main administration building.
Hundreds of students demonstrated against the administrator, holding signs and chanting slogans in support of the student, outraged over the alleged harassment and subsequent mistreatment of the student.
A university spokesperson said The Express PK Press Club that classes had to be moved online due to growing anti-management sentiment among students.
As news of the student protests spread, the IoBM was forced to reconsider its decision and pushed into action.
“Most Pakistani universities believe that students can be isolated, selected and harassed and no student union cares. However, the IOBM student body has proven the administration wrong, which, according to reports, has now led to the dismissal of the transport staff member against whom the student had initially filed a complaint,” wrote lawyer Jibran Nasir on X, formerly Twitter.
The IOBM student body is uniting to demand justice for a fellow student who was reportedly expelled for complaining about the alleged harassment she faced, with the university responding by accusing her of disrespecting staff.
Pakistani universities mostly believe… pic.twitter.com/JcQ7ObXQ2q
— Mr. Jibran Nasir 🇵🇸 (@MJibranNasir) October 24, 2025
