GUJRAT: The University of Gujrat (UoG) has asked Nawaz Sharif Medical College students, selected on reserved seats for overseas families, to submit tuition fee as per regular students’ fee structure by Nov 27.

They have also been asked to deposit an oath on a stamp paper that they will abide by syndicate’s decision on the fee.

The UoG is not following a notification of the Punjab government and the University of Health Sciences which states the students on reserved seats for overseas families will be charged regular fees, instead of hefty self-finance fees.

The NSMC, the constituent college of the UoG, has 10 seats for the children of overseas Pakistanis. The UoG administration could not take any decision on the fee issue till Nov 13, the last date for depositing fee, and kept on telling the students to deposit self-finance fees which is around $8,500 per year. Parents said the UoG accounts branch did not issue fee vouchers of self-finance fees to them and asked them to wait until Nov 22 for a clarification it had sought from the provincial government and UHS authorities.

Before the clarification was obtained, the varsity has now decided to follow the University of Sargodha, which charged open merit fees from its those 20 students of overseas parents category.

The UoG sought an oath on a stamp paper from each student, which describe that the students have now been conditionally allowed to deposit open merit fees -- Rs60,000 per year -- till Nov 27 and that they are to abide by the future decision of the varsity syndicate on the issue. In case of not following syndicate decision, the admission of their students will be cancelled.

A student’s parents told Dawn that it had been made mandatory for the students to submit oath otherwise fees would not be accepted. They said one student had deposited both regular and self-finance fees to secure his/her admission.

Students and parents urged Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to take notice of the issue.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2015