Aitchison College in Lahore, the paragon of social elitism in Pakistan, rejected the admission application of a student as the annual household income did not meet the prestigious institution’s threshold.
An applicant’s admission request was turned down merely on the basis of annual household income which was mentioned Rs 1.8 million.
A letter issued to the applicant said that the annual pay was inadequate to meet school expenses.
The exorbitant fee structures of private or semi-private institutions have remained out of sight of the government over the years.
Such institutions have developed an impression that higher tuition fee is directly proportional to quality education.
The basic right of education has become more of a money minting business and with such hiked fee structures, the premises of the Aitchison College and, others toeing the line, are confined to the children of the elite class.
The alumni of the prestigious college continue higher education in foreign universities and come back to become part of the country’s bureaucracy.
It was founded by the British in 1886 to instill the sons of Indian aristocrats with the British values and eventually to serve them.
The pass-outs of the college became part of the Indian administration and sided with the British against their countrymen.
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Prime Minister Imran Khan, former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, ex-National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, Pakistan’s richest man Mian Mansha, ex-KP Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak, Akbar Bugti, current foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi are among the alumni of Aitchison College. All those have ruled the country one way or the other.
Ex-Principal of Aitchison College Dr Agha Ghazanfar was ousted from his post by Aitchison College Board of Governors in July 2015 for denying admissions to the children of elite families and upholding merit.
In the past, there have been several protests across the country against a hike in tuition fees by private institutions.
The ‘prestigious’ institutions have not been nose-ringed by the regularity authorities and they charge desirable fees from the students without fear of getting questioned.