SU to increase financial burden on students
This was the third death caused by the Sindh University's buses. PHOTO: USINDH.EDU.PK
In order to escape the burden of growing financial debts, the management of the University of Sindh (SU), Jamshoro, has decided to dramatically hike its charges for various facilities.
Resultantly, fees for services like issuing mark-sheets, certificates, degrees and other documents have been increased by 40 per cent to over 400 per cent.
This decision, which not only affects the varsity’s own cohort but also the thousands of public and private colleges affiliated with the institution, has left students in a state of concern.
The said increase was made by SU acting vice-chancellor Dr Siddique Kalhoro on the recommendation of the Finance and Planning Committee. However, the decision’s notification was reportedly issued without the approval of the university syndicate.
As per the notification, the recommended increase in fees will be made effective from January 12, 2021.
The document highlights that fees for the issuance of certain documents, amounting to a few hundred rupees, has undergone a 200 per cent increase, whereas charges previously worth four-digit figures have now gone up to five figures, resulting in an increase of several thousand rupees and financial burden on students.
Following the increase in charges, the fees for pass certificates and marks certificates has climbed from as little as Rs130 to Rs400. Similarly, the fees for the issuance of transcripts, appearance certificates and medium of instruction certificates have gone from Rs600 to Rs 1,000.
The fee for date of declaration of results certificate has been increased from Rs160 to Rs300, while convocation and gap certificate charges have been raised from Rs3,300 to Rs5,000 and Rs600 to Rs1,000, respectively.
In addition, the fee for degree issuance has been raised from Rs1,320 to Rs3,000, while BEd and MEd degrees’ fees have gone up from Rs2,200 to Rs3,500 and BEd and MEd duplicate degree issuance charges have been raised from Rs2,700 to Rs6,000.
Degree charges for MPhil, MS and PhD programmes have been increased from Rs4,400 to Rs7,000 and Rs6,600 to Rs10,000, respectively. Moreover, charges for degree convocation for MPhil, MS and PhD programmes have been raised from Rs5,500 to Rs8,000 and Rs7,700 to Rs12,000, respectively.
Likewise, fees for retotaling of marks, change of centre and change of name have also increased from Rs500 to Rs1,000 and Rs2,000 to Rs10,000 and Rs2,000 to Rs3,000, respectively.
In the same vein, fees for MBBS degree and duplicate MBBS degree issuance have also been increased from Rs3,300 to Rs6,000 and Rs3,850 to Rs8,000,respectively, while charges for various other documents have also been increased manifold.
Justifying the sudden and unprecedented increase in charges without the syndicate’s approval, the university’s acting VC said the increase has been introduced after well over six years.
“Yet the university’s fee is still much lower compared to institutions like the University of Karachi, Shah Abdul Latif University and Hyderabad Board of Education. We face a financial deficit of Rs45 million in the current financial year alone,” stated Kalhoro. “We have over 1,800 pensioners and more than 3,000 employees, on whom Rs30 million is spent every month on account of salaries and pensions, while the Higher Education Commission grant adds up to just Rs1.77 billion in total.”
According to Kalhoro, he has implemented various polices in a bid to cut down the department’s expenditures.
“I have abolished the unlimited petrol allowance given to the VC, as a result of which they will get only 20 per cent of what was previously being spent on petrol. The petrol allowance of other officers has also been rationalised, while the contingency bill of the VC’s office has been abolished. Now. if the VC wants to invite someone over for tea, they must be ready to foot the bill for it,” he told The Express Tribune.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 19th, 2020.