Lahore (Nadia): Students of Forman Christian College University (FCCU) are campaigning against a recent spike in semester fee per course. As students of Mass Com department received their fee vouchers this month, many were shocked to see an increment of Rs. 6000/ without any official notice. This has led to an outrage by students who have now organised themselves to launch an official campaign led by Progressive Students’ Collective FCCU-body.
Earlier this year, the university administration raised the semester fee by Rs. 20,000/, which was met with little resistance. This time they have levied an additional charge of Rs. 6000/ on each course of Mass Communication and some other majors. No official notification was issued to either confirm or deny the hike.
The student body, led by the PSC cabinet members, held a meeting with the administration today. The grievances of students were delivered to them. The management has assured those present in the meeting that they would reconsider the increment. No official notification, however, has been released nor the department admins have been instructed to take back issued vouchers.
“We believe that this additional charge along with the fee hike is unjust and unfair to the thousands of students who have to work to afford their degree so we demand that this additional charge be removed and our fee hikes be restricted to only 5% per annum in line with the ruling of the Lahore High Court,” read the petition being circulated online by the student body. The students are adamant that if their demands are not met, they reserve the right to protest and, if need be, can organise campus wide strikes.
Progressive Students’ Collective – FCCU president, Afrasiab Khan Swati, says that the economic crisis caused by the recent floods has already pushed many students to financial tight spots. He alleged the administration of being highly insensitive for putting an additional economic burden on students instead of providing them with some relief. “Many of us are struggling to pay for our education. Reckless and ill-conceived policies like these, will force many students to let go of their education. We demand the administration to immediately roll back their decision,” he remarked.
