KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday issued notices to the federal and provincial authorities concerned on a petition against the Dow International Medical College (DIMC) for charging annual fees in dollars.

The two-judge bench headed by acting Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi also asked the respondents not to take any adverse action against the petitioners till next hearing.

Citing the ministry of national health services, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, provincial health department, DIMC, Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) and others as respondents, the parents of around 30 students approached the SHC and submitted that their children were the students of MBBS (bachelor of medicine & bachelor of surgery) in DIMC.

However, they asserted that the college was insisting upon payment of annual fees from petitioners in dollars instead of allowing them to pay fees in rupees and it has also unilaterally increased fee due to exchange rate of USD against PKR.

The lawyers for petitioners argued that nothing was mentioned in the prospectus, issued by the DHUS and DIMC for the purpose of seeking admission in college, that the applicants/students will have to make payment of annual fees in dollars, but an affidavit was obtained to this effect.

They also contended that there was no provision in the relevant law whereby any medical university or college could insist for payment of fees in a particular currency.

Thus, the counsel asserted that such demand was without lawful authority on one hand and also increasing financial burden of students keeping in view increasing rate of dollar.

The lawyers also informed the bench that a similar controversy was already agitated through an identical petition and the same was pending before the SHC and this matter may also be fixed along with such petition in a week since they maintained that respondents were not accepting examination forms of the petitioners as exams were scheduled to be held in the first week of December.

A deputy attorney general waived notice, claimed copy of the petition and sought time to file comments while notices were issued to the remaining respondents for Nov 27.

“However, till next date of hearing, it is expected that respondents shall not take any adverse action against the petitioners”, the bench in its order said.

The petitioners contended that after failing to enroll 150 overseas Pakistani/foreign students every year, DIMC in order to fill the batch had offered seats/admission to local Pakistani students as well as those who had a overseas sponsor and the children of petitioners came in the category of local students.

They asked the SHC to declare that the fees being charged in dollars was illegal and unlawful and also sought restraining order for respondents not to cancel the admissions of students and allow them to sit in exams till disposal of the petition.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2023