Consumer court: Notice to issued to college chairman

‘They reneged on tuition-discount and motorcycles-for-students promises’.

LAHORE: The Lahore Consumer Court, on Monday, issued a notice to the chairman of a computer college in the city for January 17 in a petition that seeks Rs200,000 compensation for not fulfilling the promises he made in newspaper advertisements prior to admission.

Petitioner Naeem Sheikh informed the court that the chairman of a computer college had advertised in a national daily in August of 2009. The advertisement said that a new campus had been established on 8 kanals of land and those who got admission before August 14, 2009 would get a 100 per cent discount. Sheikh said the chairman also promised in the advertisement that the first 50 students admitted would be given a 75 per cent discount on tuition fees, all students would have access to P-IV computers and a library containing a thousand books. The advertisement, according to Sheikh, also said that four motorcycles would be given to students through a lucky draw.

Sheiks said he paid Rs175,000 to get his son, Obaid Ullah admitted. The chairman did not provide computers, nor did he hire any specialist teachers for the courses offered, Sheikh said. The petitioner added that the atmosphere of the college was oppressive. The students, he said, were suffering and were far behind their peers at other colleges.

The petitioner said his son was expelled when he asked the chairman about the promises made in the advertisement. He said his son’s entry into the college was restricted by security guards.

He requested the court to direct the chairman allow his son in the classes and to sit for the annual Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education examination. He further prayed that the court issue direction to the chairman to pay Rs200,000 as compensation for mental torture and inconvenience. The judge issued notice to the chairman for January 17.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2011.