By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Oct 21: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Youth and Women wings have expressed their support for a petition against Universiti Malaya’s (UM) ‘zero balance’ policy which requires students to settle their fees in full to activate their status for course registration.
SUPP Youth Central chief Datuk Michael Tiang Ming Tee said the policy, which currently is imposed on students admitted through the university’s open channel pathway, also known as Satu, is unfair and oppressive.
“They are not students from very well-off families. Many of them are recipients of PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund Corporation loans) and other scholarships.
“It places unnecessary financial stress on the students, especially those from lower-income backgrounds.
“Instead of supporting students in their academic journey, the policy can make education less accessible for those struggling with financial challenges,” he said in a statement recently.
Tiang, who is also the Sarawak Deputy Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government (MPHLG), further said such policy is not fair as the students recruited from the university central unit track are students who are subsidised by the government.
“Previously, students will only be asked to settle the fee before the exam of the semester.
“That way, it gives way to the students to find means to settle their tuition fees before and to wait for the PTPTN to release fees to the university,” he added.
Meanwhile, Political Secretary to the Premier of Sarawak, Kho Teck Wan who is the SUPP Women chief, also recounted that she and Tiang met many students, particularly UM students, who voiced their concern about the policy, during the Lan Berambeh Anak Sarawak 2024 event in Kuala Lumpur.
“Many students are looking for alternatives to pay for the tuition fees.
“This is not right because students should not be put through all this anxiety of settling their tuition fees,” she lamented.
Kho added that the students were also not informed of the ‘zero balance’ policy when they signed their offer letters.
“So, we say no this ‘zero balance’ policy and the university should scrap this policy,” she emphasised. — DayakDaily
