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.
LUMS is charging PKR 18,000 to students to attend a one-day event of CONVOCATION.
That's literally what they pay their JANITOR for a MONTH.
How do you sleep at night with such injustices?#InvestigateLUMS #InvestigateAllUniversities
— Maroof Taj (@LAutreDeMaroof) December 29, 2021
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.
NUST convocation allowing one guest per student and now I gotta choose b/w mom and dad 👁👄👁
— bleh (@thrupolaroids) December 30, 2021
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.
Isra University hyderabad campus is charging 15000 for convocation۔
— Maham Khokhar (@tooth_bae) December 31, 2021
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.
Janitorial staff in the Pakistan most elitist university are getting less pay than minimum wage.Faculty get fired within hours without getting notice or reason behind their expulsion . This behaviour isn’t acceptable to Students.#investigateLums #investigateallUniversties
— Adnan Ashfaq Kayani (@AdnanAshfaqKay2) December 29, 2021
#InvestigateAllUniversities one of most expensive university in Pakistan is LUMS, VC wages over 7 million a month: janitor staff 18,000 a month, not even the minimum wage fixed by govt.
— Farooq Tariq (@FarooqTariq3) December 29, 2021
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.
Students of LUMS are asking for financial transparency in their institution. Millions of rupees are paid by students every semester and now they want to know how their fee is used. #InvestigateAllUniversities pic.twitter.com/ufI1IRppLu
— PSC Lahore (@PSCLahore) December 29, 2021
The government has cut the budget of Higher education on one hand and on the other hand the increasing corruption is destroying the already deteriorating education system.
Investigate the universities and make their audit reports public.
— Qaisar Javed (@iamQaisarJaved) December 29, 2021
#InvestigateAllUniversities
I support this hashtag and demand thorough investigation of all the universities because we never know where our collected funds and fees are invested in the name of "better faculty, education and department infrastructures".Students want justice. pic.twitter.com/TSdOLCVFn9
— Hinza A. (@AuratZaatt) December 30, 2021
