LUMS under fire for 41pc increase in semester fee

VC says decision taken in line with prior years taking into account inflation, energy costs and currency

LAHORE: The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) came under fire on Tuesday after it announced a 41 per cent increase in its semester fee.

Students and the general public took to social media to condemn the varsity’s decision of increasing the fee during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

However, according to the LUMS vice-chancellor, the decision was taken before the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.

“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,” a statement from LUMS VC Arshad Ahmed stated.

He further explained that the increase determined for 2020 was 13pc, which will be monitored to determine the next fee card.

“Furthermore, previously, a per semester blanket fee was being charged for students taking between 12 to 20 credit hours,” he added.

The VC said the current fee has been calculated on a per credit hour basis which will increase the semester fee for some and decrease for others.

“The important point is that the total fee to meet graduation requirements does not change as a result of the shift to a per credit hour basis. One of the reasons for the shift is to discourage students from taking course overloads which negatively impacts their learning,” added the VC.

Ahmed further said that the LUMS fee covers a fraction of the total costs.

“As a not-for-profit university, gifts from donors, trustees, etc. helps to subsidize one out of three students,” he added.