Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University’s decision to increase academic fees has sparked widespread protests from its students and drawn sharp criticism from political quarters, most notably the National Party.
The student-led demonstrations disrupted the regular academic schedule, leading to the suspension of all classes. The students voiced strong opposition to the fee hike, highlighting a near doubling of the semester fee from 8,000 to 17,000. They also expressed concerns over the new admission fee, which has been raised from 30,000 to 40,000. Allegations also emerged that the university administration tried to intimidate students into ending their protest.
In response to the ongoing situation, the National Party released a statement condemning the fee increases. They pointed out that over the past three years, the fees have seen a threefold increase. Central to their concerns is the role of the Vice-Chancellor. The party claims that despite her official tenure concluding on September 3rd, she continues to issue fee increases, which they argue lack legal grounding.
Furthermore, the National Party expressed concerns about the Vice-Chancellor’s alleged role in recruitment for the Department of Education, hinting at possible irregularities in a recruitment test.
Amid these tensions, the National Party is demanding a revocation of the recent fee increases, the annulment of decisions taken after the end of the Vice-Chancellor’s official term, and her immediate removal from office. As of now, university representatives have not provided any comments on the matter.