LUMS, NUST Come Under Fire For 'Exorbitant' Fees

LUMS, NUST Come Under Fire For 'Exorbitant' Fees
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) is once again under criticism as students are decrying high costs after the university announced it was charging PKR 18,000 for students to attend their convocation.

https://twitter.com/LAutreDeMaroof/status/1476219379721375744

LUMS and other elite universities have come under social media scrutiny for their high fees in the midst of a pandemic and recession, which have left many in the country struggling financially.

At the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), one student lamented that the school only granted one guest ticket to graduates.

https://twitter.com/thrupolaroids/status/1476546217689686017?s=21

Students from other universities have also questioned the high fees.  One student from Isra University, Hyderabad reported convocation fees at their school totaled PKR 15,000.

https://twitter.com/tooth_bae/status/1476848098999685121

LUMS janitorial staff allegedly being exploited 

Earlier, LUMS received criticism for the low wages paid to janitorial and services staff, despite the high fees charged to its students. Earlier this month, social media circulated the extreme disparity between the salary paid to the Vice Chancellor (VC) of the university, who allegedly received Rs. 7.5 million per month, while janitors are paid less than Rs. 20,000 per month.

https://twitter.com/AdnanAshfaqKay2/status/1476222232636674051

https://twitter.com/FarooqTariq3/status/1476266266834915334

University students across the country have taken to Twitter to demand greater fiscal transparency of higher education institutions, calling on universities to disclose the allocations of their fees under the hashtag #InvestigateAllUniversities.  The movement is requesting that universities make their annual audits public and disclose professorial and administrative salaries.

https://twitter.com/PSCLahore/status/1476223137133981700

https://twitter.com/iamQaisarJaved/status/1476209376360902656

https://twitter.com/AuratZaatt/status/1476532312477159432