Despite the economic crisis engendered by the Covid-19 lockdown and a subsequent ordinance issued by the Sindh government in May to grant university students a 20 per cent discount in fees, the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi has done the opposite by increasing its fees by 10 per cent for the academic session 2020-2021. The IBA will benefit from this increase to the tune of Rs164 million annually, out of which Rs100 million is expected to be collected through fall semester admissions. The IBA’s Board of Governors (BOG) approved the decision to increase the fee during a meeting held on Saturday, July 25, under the chairmanship of the institute’s executive director, Dr Akbar S Zaidi. Sources said the recommendations related to an increase in fees were made by the varsity’s accounts and finance department during a meeting held on June 12. After deliberation, the BOG agreed on increasing the fee by 10 per cent given the inflation in the country, adding that the university was yet to receive a final decision from the Sindh government concerning the reduction in fee as announced in May. It is pertinent to mention that the Sindh universities and boards secretary Riazuddin was also present at the meeting. However, he did not oppose the decision. A report presented at the meeting also mentioned the fee structures of other educational institutions competing with the IBA. These included the Lahore University of Management Sciences, Habib University, the Karachi School of Business & Leadership, SZABIST and the Institute of Business Management.
