KU students protest against hike in fees

Karachi 

Students of the Karachi University staged yet another protest over the varsity administration's decision to increase annual fees. 

With the commencement of every new semester at KU, it appears that a fee increase has become an annual practice and Wednesday's protest was another in a series of demonstrations against the decision.  

The demonstration organised by the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) in front of the Administration Block, saw a large number of students raise slogans against the current Vice Chancellor, Dr Muhammad Qaiser as well as concerned authorities.

The students demanded an immediate revision of the fee structure and announced more protests to follow if their demands were not met. IJT also disapproved KU Registrar Dr Moazzam Ali’s decision to impose late fee on students who were unable to submit the fee on time.   

A senior KU faculty member told The News that the management collected enrollment and development charges at the onset of first semester only but now the same charges are being carried forward to each semester as well. However he mentioned that fee hike was 17 percent in lieu of 70 percent as claimed by the IJT members.

KU Syndicate member, Professor Dr Khalid Iraqi stated that he had a detailed meeting with IJT representatives in the morning. He observed that following the decision to increase fee, each student would have to pay Rs800 to Rs 900 with the normal fee for the six-month semester. To address the issue, a two-member committee including KU Director Finance and Students Advisor has been formed, which would review students; demand and impact of fee hikes. It was told that there was a possibility that authorities might revise their decision.

The protesting students blamed the administration and stressed that instead of raising fee, the administration should probe into the corruption of misuse of allocated funds.