LAHORE: A bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has disposed of a petition, moved by a group of students enrolled at the Government College University (GCU) whose homes and livelihoods have been swept by the devastating floods, seeking to waive their admission and tuition fees in the wake of unprecedented crisis.
Refusing to act on the matter, Justice Sajid Mehmood Sethi, who took up the plea Monday, referred the matter back to the office of the university’s vice chancellor.
The petition was moved by one Aqsa Bibi, among others, who was represented by Arslan R. Sheikh.
Sheikh told the court the petitioners belonged to the flood-ravaged areas of southern Punjab where floods have wreaked havoc on the villages and cities, destroying the livelihoods of their families.
Indifferent to their sufferings, the university administration has refused to waive admission fees. The petitioners, however, are in no position to clear dues, he said.
Sheikh observed the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) has also awarded fee waivers to students hailing from flood-hit areas. He requested the court to order the GCU administration too to waive the fees of the petitioners.
But the judge referred the matter to the vice-chancellor, Asghar Zaidi, while disposing of the petition.
