A sudden 41% increase in tuition fees by the Lahore University of Management Sciences is beyond comprehension, says Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood.
Terming the decision ‘unacceptable’, Mahmood said in a tweet that LUMS is a premier educational institution of the country and needs to take lead in providing relief to students rather than burdening them and their parents with abrupt fee hikes.
“Management needs to reconsider,” he stated.
I have seen reports that LUMS has increased its fee by 41%. If true, this is unacceptable. LUMS is a premier educational institution of the country and needs to take lead in giving relief to students rather then burdening them and their parents even further. Needs revision 1/2
— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) May 8, 2020
Earlier, the university had announced on their Twitter account that the fee hike was decided before the pandemic hit, and has been consistent with prior years and ‘took into account extraordinary increases in inflation, energy costs and currency devaluation’.
— LUMS (@LifeAtLUMS) May 5, 2020
The management of the university drew severe criticism by social media users and its students after it announced fee hike despite ongoing coronavirus crisis that has affected every segment of society financially.
However, LUMS Vice-Chancellor Arshad Ahmad said that the decision to increase the fees was taken before the COVID-19 outbreak.
“LUMS fees for 2020 were determined before COVID-19 that is entirely consistent with prior years and took into account extraordinary increases in inflation, energy costs and currency devaluation,” the VC said in a statement.
