The Punjab University (PU), recently announced that they have decided to swell their registration and other examination fees for every exterior students or candidates by 10 percent.
The decision made by the university during their latest meeting, is because all the academic institutes and activities are shut out due to corona virus global pandemic situation in the country. Now, the university is suffering from financial crisis set off by a cut in the yearly budget of the Higher Education Commission’s (HEC).
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According to the statement of a highly authorized PU officer, the hike that has been made in the registration and examination fees was unavoidable, since the HEC department has cut off their annual financial budget for such a huge academic institute, there was no other way to pay salaries to examination officers and other university staff.
After the hike in fees, the registration fee for BA/BSc exams has now been increased to Rs. 4,090 from Rs. 3,720. Meanwhile, the examination fee for BA and BSc has been swelled up to Rs. 5,490 from Rs. 5,000 and to Rs. 6,315 from Rs. 5,750 respectively.
Students who are waiting for B. Com, MA, MSc, LLB, and M. Com examination and registration fee structure would also have to suffer this increase in fee.
However, last month, Punjab university had revealed that they will give up complete fees of regular students except for tuition fees, keeping in mind the harmful economic consequences of the corona-virus global pandemic. But the latest decision made by the university officials has left all private students in a practical dilemma.
After hearing this decision, the private students, teachers and also a huge number of female students from deprived and remote areas opposed it by saying that the hike in fee will double their problems during these harsh pandemic situations and they are demanding them to reconsider their actions.
Moreover, they are calling such actions as “anti-education”. A senior administrative official said that:
“We are one of the most reputed and well-known university of this country and if we are going to accept such decision then obviously other smaller academic institutes will also follow our lead on this shameful decision. Eventually other universities will also increase the fee and will become un-affordable for the poor students of the institute”.
