SIBU: Universiti Malaya’s move to implement a ‘zero balance’ policy has been deemed unfair and oppressive to students.
SUPP Youth chief Datuk Michael Tiang said youth and women members of the party therefore support the petition by UM students asking the university to drop this policy.
He said UM’s decision is putting the students in anxiety and worrying them before their semester begins.
“They are not students from very well-off families. Many of them are recipients of PTPTN 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 joint press statement by the SUPP Youth Central and Central Women Section.
Tiang, who is also Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government said such a policy means the university is asking the students recruited by the university’s open path channel to settle the first semester tuition fees before they could activate their student status.
He said this is not fair as the students recruited from the university central unit track are students being subsidised by the government.
“Previously, students were only asked to settle the fee before the exam of the semesters.
“That way, it gives way to the students to find means to settle their tuition fees and to wait for the PTPTN to release fees to the university,” he said.
Meanwhile, political secretary to the Premier Kho Teck Wan said when Tiang and he attended the Lan Berambeh Session, they met with a lot of students, particularly UM students.
He said these students voiced their concern towards such a policy.
“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,” he lamented.
Kho said they were also informed by the students that when they signed the offer letter, there was no mention of a zero balance policy.
“So, we say no to the zero balance policy and the university should scrap this policy,” he said.
