TAXILA, Sept 23: Public and private sector educational institutions in Wah Cantt are minting money by selling admission forms and prospectuses for intermediate, graduate and master programmes at exorbitant rates.

During a survey conducted by this reporter, it was revealed that the Punjab government’s indifferent attitude towards admissions to government and private colleges has led to the sale of admission forms and prospectus. The sale of admission-related material at un-controlled prices has perturbed students and their parents who demanded the government take notice of the situation.

It was observed that private sector colleges and autonomous institutions have been fleecing admission-seekers by selling prospectuses at exorbitant prices. For admission to intermediate, graduate or master programme, a student is required to buy an admission form along with a colourful, eye-catching prospectus. After submitting an admission form, a candidate has to wait for a merit list. However, only a few private institutions admit students on the basis of merit. The remaining grant admission on the first come, first served basis. The price of prospectuses and admission forms ranges from Rs200 to Rs1,000 in public sector educational institutions and from Rs800 to Rs2,500 in private institutions.

The students and their parents were quite disturbed during the ongoing admission season. A comparison of prospectus prices of different educational institutes clearly showed that there was no uniformity of prices between government colleges and universities offering intermediate classes. However, there are some public sector colleges who have been selling prospectuses on relatively lower prices. These institutes include FG College for Men, Govt Degree College for Women, F.G. Postgraduate College for Women and Federal Science Degree College for Men.

Asma Rani, a student seeking admission to third-year, said since they had to buy prospectuses of more than one college or university to ensure their admission, it was becoming an extra financial burden on them. Another student, Zahida Bibi, said the negligence of Higher Education Department was evident from the fact that public educational institutions had different prices for the same study programme.

Ghulam Zakaria, the parent of a student, said some colleges were selling prospectuses on cheap rates whereas others were charging exorbitant prices, putting poor students and their parents in trouble. Mohammad Younas, the father of a student, said in the wake of the increasing inflation people found it hard to buy costly prospectuses.

“Why the government cannot ensure the availability of prospectuses on low rates,” Azhar Ali, another resident asked. suggesting the admission process should be centralised to facilitate the students and their parents.

An admission clerk at a private university said due to price hike and increase in the prices of paper products, the cost of printing had increased. Another college official, on condition of anonymity said, a prospectus cost them Rs100 but they sold it to students at Rs300.