Colleges charge at will for admission forms

LAHORE:THE Punjab government’s indifferent attitude towards admissions to government and private colleges has led to the sale of admission forms and prospectus at exorbitant rates.

The sale of admission-related material at un-controlled prices has been greatly irking students and their parents who have demanded the government to take notice of the situation and stop this “fleecing” in the name of education.

A comparison of prospectus prices of different educational institutes clearly shows that there is no uniformity in connection with the prices of prospectus of government colleges and universities offering intermediate classes. Similarly, private institutes are also taking full advantage of the situation and selling prospectus at higher rates, causing troubles for students and their parents. The Govt College of Home Economics is selling its prospectus at Rs 300 besides Rs 20 is being charged for a charity ticket. The Government College University (GCU) is selling its prospectus for intermediate at Rs 200 only while the Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) is charging Rs 300 with Rs 25 ticket. Similarly, Rs 75 to Rs 200 are being charged by a number of colleges, including the Govt MAO College, Govt College of Science, Govt Islamia College, and Govt College for Women, Cooper Road, for admission to intermediate classes.

It is pertinent to mention here that most of the private colleges and universities, offering intermediate level education, have been charging minimum Rs 500 for prospectus and admission forms, etc. A citizen complained that prospectus of the Govt College of Home Economics did not mention its price, adding that at least the government should ensure that all institutions print prices of admission forms and prospectus. It is generally observed that students usually apply for admission to more than one college with an aim to securing admission at any of these while there are also those who apply in more than one discipline which shows how
much such students have to spend on admission related documents.The news.