Shaba Jt: The Unfortunate Reality Of All-Boys Schools

(Trigger warning for body shaming)

When you belong to an affluent Punjabi family that tends to invest everything for the wellbeing of their male child, your privilege reflects itself in nearly all aspects of your life. My parents’ decision to enroll me in arguably one the best schools in Lahore was a  culmination of tireless effort and financial investment equivalent to a  lifetime’s fortune. If one school did not fulfill their set academic benchmark, I was then made to transfer to some better institution.

But then came O-Level, when perhaps the uncertainty finally came to a halt!

I was finally admitted to Lahore Grammar School Johar Town (LGS JT or just JT for short) with the thought incorporated into my mind that this will be my abode for the next 5 years.

As a 13-year old pampered kid, I was unable to decipher the problematic and the toxic environment surrounding (almost every) all-boys school. For me (and my parents), these aspects perhaps had only a little impact on the decision. The academic excellence, prestige, and a purpose-built campus overweighed any other factor crucial for my mental wellbeing as a teenage student.

So, where did the problem lie?

Just about a few months back, an article in DAWN raised the issue of exploitation under the hands of private institutions mainly LGS, Beaconhouse and Aitchison. To study in either  of the three places (or any other private school for that matter) can cost almost as much as a kidney for the monthly fee. Include other miscellaneous expenses such as learning materials, mandatory school trips, and evening tuition services, and the cost begins to rise even further.

While the issue of financial exploitation may have gotten the necessary attention, not many people are aware of the othe problems prevalent in institutions like LGS JT that create a plethora of challenges for a student studying there.

When I now look back at my 5-year time spent at that school, probably at no point can I reminisce any fond memory I have of that place. What I will illustrate next can be relatable to a number of my fellow alumni, who will nod in agreement with me for their unpleasant times at JT.

Let me start with the deeply entrenched toxic masculine culture purposely ingrained within each JTite.

We were supposed to act in accordance with these values that were literally based upon dehumanizing women, trivializing the experiences of victims and breeding the toxic culture further within the student body.

The teacher-evaluation process provides a cohesive example in that regard.  One of the students back in my O-Level years, dared to make derogatory remarks about the body of a female instructor only out of personal grudge and dislike. In another similar unfortunate situation, a guy was reported to the administration for vandalizing the walls of the school with unspeakable words about the faculty members.

Step further ahead out of the vicinity of the school, and you will find these toxic traits exhibiting in other manifold ways. While the AC-JT rivalry is not news to most Lahoris, the enmity usually turned into a matter of “ego and pride” (long story short, let’s see who has a fragile male ego). The unnecessary rivalry came at the cost of expulsions/suspensions on both ends as well as physical injuries sustained during several out-of-school fights.

In case you haven’t guessed yet, these fights were most of the times over girls who were somehow a matter of ego between the boys. These ideas of ownership of the other gender carries forward as soon as these boys reach LUMS and equate getting a girlfriend with a trophy for social excellence.

If you were someone who even remotely doubted your sexuality, then LGS JT was never your safe space to be in. Exploration was out of the realm of possibilities because you were socially conditioned to abide by the cis-heteronormative values (boys will be boys). Your eagerness to dress nicely or even listen to Lana Del Rey was frowned upon and sought the disapproval of the JT community at large for being too “feminine.” When one student came out as a non-binary individual, they were ridiculed and otherized, forcing them to drop out of the A level program just one year prior to completion. The strong inculcation of homo/transphobic values only proved to legitimize bullying against anyone who stood in defiance against these principles. And when any relevant concern was brought up with the administration, the higher authority festered the grievances further as opposed to finding any meaningful solution(s).

To make the matters even worse, some would also refrain from filing a complaint in the first place out of sheer embarrassment and unexpected repercussions. In grade 9, when swimming constituted a mandatory slot in our weekly timetable, the idea of freeing myself from the crippling academic stress through twice-a-week dip in the pool soon came to an end as a result of body-shaming and that too under the hands of my swimming coach. The event left a tear in my heart that still hangs till this very day. For the first time in my life, I felt uncomfortable with my body forcing me to undergo a long period of starvation soon afterward. But never did that day arrive, when I would expect an apology from the swimming coach or the school administration.

 

While empirical evidence would certainly show JTites scoring more A’s than perhaps any other institution in Lahore, the physical and mental exhaustion behind the struggle never really gets the needed validation. Behind the hundreds of A’s in A level, there are stories of students who were subjected to physical and psychological abuse under the all-respected principal of the program. When an AS student tried justifying his underperformance in the Sessional Exams on the basis of his deteriorating mental health, the principal sidelined any of the legitimate concerns by saying, “Ab tum mujhe dobara dawaiyan khatay nazar na ho” (I shall not see you again having your prescription medicines). Additionally, being even a minute late to your class could earn you a literal slap from the principal in front of all your fellow peers and friends. The act embarrassing in all the many ways, often left students traumatized for the rest of their time at the school.

Lastly, let us not forget how a number of JTites, who are now part of universities like LUMS. have actively failed to give up most of the toxic traits they picked up from JT. As someone who assimilated within the “JT group” for the first part of the freshman year, the friendships continue to be defined by the nebulous “BRO-CODE.” Individuals who willingly (yet, unfortunately) manifest a connection with their high school batchmates do so based on conforming to the same problematic values I mentioned in this article. But possibly with added severe form of emotional manipulation and ghosting pitted against the group members as well as other non-JT Luminites.

As an alumnus of Lahore Grammar School Johar Town, I seek no pleasure in ever calling myself a JTITE. My dissociative relationship with that school would always be characterized in terms of my unpleasant experiences and unfond memories I have of that place. Perhaps, the urgent need of the hour is for other fellow alumni members to step up and call-out the toxicity that remains rampant in that institution. If no timely solution is sought, we will probably witness the degradation of our new generation under the hands of “one of the best schools in Pakistan.”