12 October 2004	Tuesday	26 Shaban 1425

PESHAWAR, Oct 11: Provincial Education Minister Maulana Fazle Ali on Monday assured the NWFP Assembly that he would take up the issue of increase in admission fees of public sector universities after the abolition of the self-finance scheme with the governor.

The issue was raised by MPA Habib-ur-Rehman of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal on a point of order. The MPA said the admission fees had been increased manifold.

The views were endorsed by Speaker Bakht Jehan Khan, who said poor students were deprived of admission because of the increase in the fees. The minister said he had received complaints in this regard, which would be presented to the governor.

JTI: Speaking at a press conference at the press club on Monday, Jamiat Talaba-i-Islam Nazim Abidur Rehman said the tuition and admission fees of the public sector universities of the province had been increased by up to three times.

He said the increase made after the annulment of the self-finance scheme had hit the students who had got admission on merit. He said that in the past the students admitted on merit to the University of Engineering and Technology had to deposit Rs8,900 and other utility charges for admission to each year of computer and information system, software, telecommunication, electronics and architecture engineering programmes, while now they had to submit Rs58,000 plus utility charges.

In civil, electrical, agriculture, mining, chemical and mechanical engineering programmes, the admission fee had been raised from Rs3,500 per year to Rs9,500, he said.

In the University of Peshawar, the admission fee for bachelor of information technology, computer science, business administration, and biotechnology Had been increased from Rs5,000 to Rs9,000, he said.

He said the University of Agriculture had increased its fees by two times and its affiliated Institute of Business and Management Studies had renamed its self-finance scheme as self-sustainable programme. -APP