ON a recent visit to Quaid-i-Azam University I noticed that the admission process had been updated from a manual to an online system. When I was a student at QAU a few years back, a university prospectus was given along with an admission form for a set price.

It gave prospective students information regarding the admission process, as well as the university’s aims, objectives, departments, faculties, courses, fees structures, marking patterns, sports facilities, accommodation, campus rules and regulations, etc. The price then for the prospectus and form seemed justifiable. The new process, however, requires one to download the same form from the QUA website and manually fill it, as well as submit an exorbitant sum of Rs2,500.

This excludes the prospectus, and thus prospective students come seeking admission with none of the vital information they require to make informed decisions regarding their higher education. Given that students from all over Pakistan apply to this federal, public-sector university, this process is prohibitive for those from rural areas who may lack the computer literacy required to navigate this online system. Nor is it justifiable that the university now charges an exorbitant sum just for submitting the admission form.

A prospectus shows a university’s progress and provides essential information to parents and students. If QAU does not provide it, at the very least the federal authorities and the university syndicate must ensure that students aren’t being fleeced either.

A Concerned Citizen
Haripur

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2017