Soaring fees force students to drop out

More than 20 per cent seats remain vacant in 50 per cent of all colleges across Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI:

The prices of textbooks from first year to post-graduation have risen drastically as the fees of both government and private colleges also continue to increase.

In 2025, the increase in school expenses has set a record in Punjab's history. Due to crushing inflation, parents are unable to enrol their children in colleges after matriculation.

For the new academic session 2025-27, there has been a record decline in new admissions in first-year classes in government colleges, raising serious questions about the future of college education. This unprecedented drop has also caused alarm in the Higher Education Department. The Directorate of Public Instruction Colleges Punjab has taken strict notice of the decline in admissions, issuing a circular to all divisional and district directors of colleges and principals across Punjab, demanding written reports with reasons for the low enrolments.

All directors and principals have been instructed to explain why admissions in first-year classes are at record lows this year. In some districts, there are even colleges where the admission rate for first year is zero, which means first-year classes cannot be held there this year. The Directorate has termed this situation extremely alarming.

According to the Directorate, in large colleges this year, admissions could not be completed as per seat allocations even in the first round. Later, merit lists had to be lowered to cover the gap. Yet in around 40 per cent to 54per cent of colleges, new admissions did not even fill 80 per cent of the seats available, while in most suburban colleges the admission rate dwindled between zero and 30 percent.

Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association Former president, Ilyas Qureshi, said that the new privatisation policy, the constant increase in textbook prices, admission fees, uniforms, shoes and other stationery costs have forced middle and low-income families to withdraw their children from first-year education. Poor families, instead of educating their daughters after matric, have started marrying them off.

He added that when you add up the total costs of first-year education for one child, which includes the admission fee, books, notebooks, practical copies, rough notebooks, pens, pencils, art supplies, uniforms, school bag, shoes, dupatta, monthly fee and pick-and-drop charges, the total comes to Rs50,000 to 60,000. Inflation has snatched college education from children of middle and low-income families. Those with two or three children cannot afford to enrol all their children in first year.

Lecturer Sidra Naqvi said that from first year to graduation, education in government colleges, including books and notebooks, should be made completely free. Otherwise, the pace at which the inflation is rising with textbook and stationery prices constantly going up, college education will face a severe decline within the next three to five years.