ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of students from Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) on Tuesday took to the streets against what they said was an unprecedented fee hike and missing facilities at the institution.

The protesting students said for Fall-2015 the university administration had increased the fee (tuition and allied charges) for PhD from Rs41,638 to Rs62,622 and for MPhil from Rs38,883 to Rs51,660. The fee has also beenincreased by around 20pc for all bachelors and masters classes.

They said the tuition fee had been increased in September but when the students protested then the university administration had assured them that the decision would be reconsidered.

`It`s the third week of December but we still don`t know when the university will take its decision back,` said Shoaib Sarwar, a Bachelor of Science (BSc) student.

The students said they were also facing hardship as the internet facility on the campus was poor and hostels lacked the facility of hot water in the winters.

The protesters also demanded the university administration reverse its decision to close down the linguistics department.

`We are left with no option but to stage a protest as the university administration is not taking our issues seriously,` said Hasan Raza, another student.

At around 9:30am, the students startedgathering at the main cafeteria where they were later joined by more students. At around noon, a large number of students reached the administration block which houses the offices of the vice chancellor (VC). However, the students were not allowed to meet the VC, Dr Javed Ashraf.

As a result, the protesters blocked the main road leading to the university near Babul Quaid and the National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research (NIHCR). They staged a protest demonstration at the university bus terminal which continued till late in the evening.

A large number of police officials remained at a standby near Babul Quaid while officials from the district administration headed by Assistant Commissioner Secretariat Waqas Rashid held negotiations with the students but the latter refused to end the protest.

The students chanted slogans against the university administration for not heeding to their demands. `Look at the arrogance of theuniversity administration. We are protesting here since 10am but no one has bothered to come and listen to our demands,` said a female student.

`Since the VC did not come to meet the students and the students refused to disperse without getting an assurance, I convinced the vice chancellor to come and listen to the protesters. At around 5pm, the VC came to the bus terminal and addressed the students after which they dispersed peacefully,` AC Waqas Rashid told Dawn.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the university in a press release said: `QAU has raised its student tuition fee this year by 15 per cent for 22 departments and by 20 per cent for four other departments. This is the equivalent of 7.5 per cent and 10 per cent per year since there was no fee hike last year. The QAU tuition fees are lower than all other public universities.

Though it`s a nominal routine increase, the VC has directed the fee structure committee to revisit the matter, the statement added.