Administrations of Pakistani universities have been mistreating students for a long while. In early May, LUMS suddenly increased its fees by up to 41% causing significant media attention and uproar from the student and parent community of LUMS. Now the Dean of Business at Lahore School of Economics (LSE) has poked fun at a Swabi student for being unable to purchase an additional laptop for online end-of-year exams.
LSE Dean’s comments cause controversy
LSE’s Dean of Business School Dr Sohail Zafar allegedly talked to a Swabi student in a mocking, sarcastic and informal tone regarding difficulty in accessing online resources for LSE’s online classes and exams. In a video which has since gone viral on social media and led to #BoycottLSE trending on Twitter, saw the Dean make several demeaning comments and pinpointing blame on students for technological problems experienced by LSE students. The background behind the video appears to be that the student had a Macbook laptop and was unable to access LSE’s LMS portal for his mock exams.
Recently, LSE held mock exams for students which were highly problematic, as students faced difficulty in submitting their exams due to reasons which were not previously known. Students who used a Macbook, used a browser other than Google Chrome, had a Yahoo or Hotmail/Outlook account and had their laptop or computer time zone set to a country other than Pakistan were unable to submit their exams on time.
Although these were mock exams – so they did not count towards course grades – some students who have Macbooks are forced to find other ways of doing their upcoming online exams. Instead of LSE addressing all these problems with online exams, they have sent students a list of technical guidelines they need to follow including using a non-Macbook laptop/computer, as well as using Google Chrome and Gmail accounts to do the online exams.
One student of LSE spoke to Crux,
“When we are looking to give exams, we want to be relaxed and open-minded. But LSE’s inability to fix issues with its LMS and the administration’s laziness and lack of efforts mean the burden is placed on us to make sure everything goes well with exam submission. Instead of keeping our minds focused on the exam, we now have to worry about meeting a number of technical guidelines before every exam which creates stress before the exam has even begun”.
Going back to the LSE Dean’s remarks in the viral video, the Dean responded to the student’s query about how his Macbook does not work with LSE LMS by making remarks such as “You all are disturbing us; I mean get a computer on rent, because if you are serious about studies, you would get a computer on rent”. He further went onto say, “You are not serious. You people are incompetent and have a negative attitude towards education by trying to cause problems for us”.
The most scathing attack against the student came when he said, “Considering how poor you are, I know you all can buy a brand-new laptop for Rs 40,000 to 50,000”. Although the comments do not seem as damaging when translated to English, the Dean’s tone and usage of informal Urdu and Punjabi language clearly hinted at his degrading and humiliating attitude towards the student.
Other students pointed out the fact that a large number of LSE students have Macbooks and now many have to make accommodations to get another laptop. Many students who are unable to borrow or rent laptops due to the COVID-19 situation in remote locations are looking to buy a new laptop – an unnecessary expense for students.
LSE students are further angered by the fact that many students are already going through so much stress due to loss of job in their family and deaths of close family members resulting from COVID-19, and now LSE is asking them to purchase new laptops and that too in a harsh manner. Another common complaint raised by LSE students appears to be that LSE is administering closed-book online exams, although HEC has discouraged the use of online closed-book exams during the COVID-19 pandemic. LSE declared that its approach to host closed-book exams is in accordance with HEC laws, but HEC’s concern regarding invigilation and proctoring for online exams are difficult to address for LSE, students say.
We tried to reach Dr Sohail Zafar for a comment on his alleged misbehaviour against the student in the video, but he did not provide a reply up until the time of writing this article. Moreover, the student in the video who has been identified as Ali Shewa released a response video on social media addressing the initial viral video. He defended Dr Sohail saying that the video which went viral was cropped and that it did not demonstrate the whole picture. Ali spoke on the issue saying that Dr Sohail is a good, caring person who addresses all of the students’ problems, and that the video was an after-class talk which did not require Dr Sohail to be formal. In fact, many previous students of Dr Sohail Zafar came out in support of him on social media and defended his integrity.
A Senior student at LSE, who requested to remain anonymous as other LSE students who talked to Crux, made the following comments on the viral video and LSE’s administration, “I would have given you my name as a source but I choose to remain anonymous because LSE’s administration is a bully. If they found out who I was, they would make sure I do not graduate or graduate with poor grades”.
He further expressed,
“LSE administration is the pinnacle of laziness and incompetence and the major reason for it is a lack of student council or union. The administration goes on doing as they wish with little to no accountability or responsibility for poor actions or consequences. When LSE administration is at fault, they always blame the students and during this pandemic, they have doubled our courseload while not addressing most of our concerns.
LSE students have forgotten their rights which is why you see many current students and alumni defending the Dean of Business on social media. They defend him by saying it is his ‘style of teaching’ or that students need to be ‘stronger’, but if you showed the video to students of LUMS or IBA, they would request for the Dean to be sacked because LUMS and IBA have stronger student councils who protect the rights of students. I would go as far as to say that the LSE administration may have forced Ali (the student in the video) to make comments that protect the image of LSE and the Dean”.
A Junior at LSE, who also wants to remain anonymous, had this to say regarding Dr Sohail, “I know for a fact that Dr Sohail is an uncaring person who talks in a similar tone as in the video with all students. I happened to have an issue with a business instructor who had a grudge against students in my class for some reason, so the instructor purposely gave us low grades without even marking our papers or assignment”. He continued,
“I and my course-mates went to Dr Sohail for the first time, the so-called Dean of Business School, and requested him to talk to the instructor but he did not even look at us while we approached him. He had his eyes closed and talked to us in a highly informal manner. He told us that go sit outside the teacher’s office or protest against him in a sarcastic tone, as grading is up to the teacher’s discretion. This shows you how LSE is run. Instructors bully and control students and their livelihoods as much as they like, while much of the administrators and Deans do not hold them accountable and the students suffer. I would request for Dr Sohail to resign or to be sacked as well as other many incompetent instructors at LSE and members of administration who take hefty salaries and provide a poor service in return”.
Story behind LUMS’s 41% fee hike
As LUMS students worked on their assignments and prepared for their end-of-year exams, they received a shock email in the early days of May regarding changes made to tuition semester fees. The email took students by surprise as it revealed that LUMS intended to increase its semester fees by approximately 41% without communication with the student or parent body beforehand. Although the wording of the email by the LUMS administration made it seem like the increment in tuition fees was 13%, but the decision was to increase fees by 13% on a per credit hour basis which added up to make a 41% increase in total fees.
Previously, LUMS had a standard tuition fee which meant that undergraduate students could take anywhere between 12 to 20 credit hours for a fee of around Rs 340,000 per semester – which resulted in most students taking an average of 16 credit hours. However, now LUMS has changed this policy to a per credit hour basis meaning that students are having to pay more for higher credit hours in addition to inflationary increases in per credit hour rates. This sees tuition fees rising to approximately Rs480,000 and above for a majority of students especially Sophomores and Juniors at LUMS.
What LUMS did is that it changed its fee policy in such a way that a large proportion of students would have to pay significantly more tuition fees, while a small percentage of students (usually some Seniors who take a minimum of 12 credit hours) would be paying less or almost the same tuition fees as previously. This results in majority of the student body suffering and LUMS increasing its revenues. LUMS has stood by its decisions by declaring that the increase in tuition fees is a result of inflation, rising energy costs and currency devaluation. The university may have some validity to this argument, but increasing its fees by 41% can, in no way, be justified.
LUMS students and alumni have strongly disapproved the 41% fee hike citing that schools have been ordered to decrease their fees by 20%, while LUMS is increasing its fees by a massive 41%. Others feel that LUMS students are already suffering so much due to the COVID-19, as families have lost their incomes and jobs so taking in account a 41% fee hike would put inconsiderable financial pressure on students and their families. Many have even voiced their thoughts that they may have to transfer to another university if LUMS goes ahead with their fee increase, as they will not be able to pay for their graduation at LUMS.
Significant media attention has been given to the story already, but LUMS administration appears to stand by its decision. In an email addressed to LUMS Alumni, the administration reportedly acknowledged they are waiting for the negative media attention to ‘die down’ hinting strongly at the possibility that they are looking to stand by their decision. The media attention both in the mainstream and social media seems to have rattled some cages among the LUMS administration, as key public figures have also condemned LUMS’s fee hike.
Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood discouraged the fee hike by calling it ‘unacceptable’ and urging the ‘management to reconsider’. He tweeted that the Supreme Court had given a formula for a 5% to 8% increase in annual fees so that students can be provided relief instead of burden during this difficult time for the country. LUMS students and alumni continue to protest on social media with #LUMSFeeHike trending on Twitter for quite some time. The LUMS community believe that the continuing media pressure and momentum will help convince the administration to repeal or reverse their course of action regarding the fee hike.
A LUMS Sophomore mentioned in her account and views on the event, the drastic consequences the fee hike could have. She spoke to Crux, “The administration does not recognise how suffocating this is for a large group of students. If the fee hike goes ahead, which I am hoping and wishing does not, many existing students will need to start applying for financial aid through LUMS if they are to complete their degrees”.
In terms of how LUMS as an institute may be impacted, she said, “Well, if existing students who will now need financial aid get rejected which is likely, some may drop out. Others, especially freshmen, may even be contemplating a transfer to other universities. Some of my friends have debated joining a university abroad which may actually be cheaper than LUMS too”. She concluded, “All in all, LUMS as a university could lose so many great, high-quality students. In the long run, it’ll hurt LUMS more than the administration thinks. Bright prospective students looking to join will hesitate now due to the immense costs of attending LUMS with the fee hike. LUMS may not be the same again especially in terms of prestige or reputation”.
Why Do University Administrations Act This Way and What Can Be Done about It?
Administration has never been a strong point for Pakistan in any sector. University administrations, for long, have been inconsiderate towards students and unaccommodating especially those of private institutes. Despite the fact that member of administrations at universities such as LSE and LUMS get good salaries and work in a decent environment, their inability to be empathetic towards students has been at the forefront of issues between students and the administration. This attitude of university administrations in Pakistan forcing students into bad outcomes for them and diverting blame has existed since the 1980s.
Before the ban on student unions in the 1980s, students played an important role in looking after the interests of the student body and society in broad view. However, military leader Zia-Ul-Haq banned student unions in 1984, because student unions played a major role in the 1968 movement which resulted in the toppling of dictator Ayub Khan. The ban on student unions was introduced to protect the military’s interests and supposedly prevent revolts against military authority, but it had mass implications on educational institutes. Students now faced harsh and oppressive attitudes from university administrations as well as unquestioned, often unjust penalties and fines, increase in sexual abuse on campuses and a much lower standard of education due to lack of accountability of instructors and administrators.
In fact, many students at LUMS report that they frequently receive penalties and fines for hostel damages they did not commit, and they are unable to contest such fines. Moreover, LUMS students also recognise that the LUMS Disciplinary Committee (DC) is useless when it comes to real matters such as abuse by instructors. The LUMS DC is lenient when it comes to unprofessional behaviour from instructors as many members of the DC are friends with instructors, so instructors are not held responsible for breach of student rights or misbehaviour. The same can be said for other educational institutes in Pakistan as university administrations look down upon students and do not respect them as equals.
Most students in Pakistan believe that justice can be restored through lifting the unconstitutional ban on student unions. Although student councils have replaced unions since the ban on student unions in the 80s, student councils are not nearly as effective as student unions. Student councils are dependent bodies created by universities with its own laws, but student unions are independent and autonomous bodies that are not restricted by university laws. The Student Solidarity March which took place in 2018 and 2019 advocated for many student rights including restoration of student unions so that education can become accessible and fair once again.
The March was controversial among the public as media focussed their attention on a small group of members who were promoting radical causes such as communism which were not advocated or approved by the March organisers. The Student Solidarity March was performed to fight for the rights of students in Pakistan so that the quality and accessibility of educational institutes can be improved. Students have suffered enough at the hands of dictator-like university administrations in Pakistan, and the time has come for students to re-establish student-friendly policies in education which prevent exploitation and misbehaviour by university administration such as the LUMS fee hike and disrespectful behaviour by Dr Sohail Zafar of LSE.
