On Monday, after receiving a huge amount of online criticism on the recent fee hike, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) issued an official statement.
As per details, LUMS increased its fee by 41% and manipulated the credit hour calculation while calling it ignore-able.
Read: LUMS Just Increased Its Semester Fee by 41% Amid COVID-19 & WTF!
LUMS administration clarified that the fee hike was determined before the COVID-19 situation.
The statement issued by the university said that the decision was “entirely consistent with prior years and took into account extraordinary increases in inflation, energy costs and currency devaluation.”
The administration further maintained that “the total fee to meet graduation requirements does not change as a result of the shift to a per credit hour basis.”
While explaining the reason behind the hefty hike the institute added, “One of the reasons for the shift is to discourage students from taking course overloads which negatively impacts their learning.”
The statement issued by LUMS didn’t go down well with its students, only adding to their rage.
The varsity was consistently called out for justifying the increase in the semester fee with their new credit hour policy.
Students are especially infuriated after the administration tried to rationalize the decision based on students’ mental health.
The university was lambasted for not involving the student body while deciding the change in the fee structure.
With the discord between LUMS and its students still very much alive and raging, the institute must either take a step back from its stated position or embrace itself for student activism.
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