ISLAMABAD, July 10: Kashif Nazir's dream to pursue higher education remains a dream.

When he applied for an MPhil programme in a public university, he was told the course would cost Rs40,000. But it was increased to Rs58,000 as Nazir was about to submit fee.

The young man, struggling to make ends meet, walked away from the counter planning to apply later, hoping against hope that someday tuition fees would cost less.

Higher education has never been a right but now it's a privilege – tied to your wallet.

“A student from an ordinary family could get through higher education but the way fees in both private and public universities are increasing, soon only the rich will have access to it,” said Hafeezur Rehman, chairman Department of Anthropology, Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU).

The reality is amply reflected in the arbitrary increases in tuition fees in the universities.

At Rs60,500 per semester, four years Bachelors in Business Administration (BBA) programme from the Bahria University for their child would cost parents approximately Rs500,000. A BBA from the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) costs Rs66,000 per semester. If parents thought that were expensive, a similar programme from the privately owned Iqra University today would cost Rs125,000 a year. Their Masters in Business Administration (MBA) costs the same.

And the fee structures for BBA and MBA programmes from the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) were as intimidating – Rs77,000 per semester.

“It's impossible to meet expenses. University expenditures exceeded Rs2 billion a year and funds from the government were not coming, especially when we have some of the most expensive faculty who are paid Rs250,000 plus,” said an IIUI official, who insisted on anonymity. He added that the university had no choice but to pass expenses onto students.

In Iqra University a few faculty members emphasised on higher fees for quality education given the costs associated with bringing in faculty from the market and laboratories and libraries.

However, Dr AH Nayyar, who was a visiting faculty in Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), did not agree. He believed that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) or some organisation should regulate fee structures in universities.

“But HEC has no such mechanism. It has given a free hand to universities to generate funds whichever way possible. This is why universities are running programmes of commercial nature that I believe ignore merit,” said Dr Nayyar, who has a teaching experience stretching over 50 years.

Sad that the education was not government's priority, Dr Hafeez lamented most of the higher education programmes offered at QAU were now being run on self-finance basis. “There's need for a check on the fee structure. A limit must be set.”

But Sohail Naqvi, executive director HEC, points towards costs of imparting quality higher education. “The problem in Pakistan is that the government is not providing enough support while the desire is not to compromise on the quality of education,” he said.

“Graduates are now competing not just nationally but also internationally. Higher education is heavily subsidised in Europe. In the American model significant funding comes from government. But an even bigger chunk of money comes from a well developed corporate sector and philanthropic activities.”

But he made clear that the policy was not to deny higher education based on ability to pay. “Universities are grappling with this issue. HEC is encouraging them to generate funding through contract research, philanthropic activities and other areas so that the fees should be such that students are not denied quality education.”

He said universities did not want to increase fees but at the same time government resources into education had been decreasing.

Mr Naqvi suggested “multi-pronged solutions” to the issue of high fees structures, saying the government provides funds and universities identify needy students for scholarship programmes.