Another student group calls for UM to quash fees policy

 

Universiti Malaya officials have said just 4% of students would be affected by the new policy to settle fees in full before registration for a new course.

PETALING JAYA: Another student group has come out in opposition to Universiti Malaya’s “zero-balance policy,” which has sparked protests over the requirement for students to settle their fees in full before registering for new courses.

The Malaysian Muslim Students Coalition lauded the efforts of the Universiti Malaya Students Union in negotiating for an extended registration period and called for the university to abolish the new rule.

“This policy should not be implemented by UM or any other university,” said the group’s president Wan Muhammad Arif Wan Bazli Fariz. He said most students do not have the finances needed to make a lump sum payment at the beginning of each semester.

He urged UM to immediately cancel the policy which he said “clearly mistreats students”.

Earlier today, the students union and the Universiti Malaya International Students Association had protested against the policy, and said students had not been given enough time to apply for a grace period to pay their fees.

On Sept 19, in response to criticisms, UM said fewer than 4% of students would be affected by the zero-balance policy and that anyone who required financial aid would be allowed to register for classes so long as their fees were paid before the seventh week of the first semester. - FMT