Public university's hostel, service fees for second semester reduced by up to 15 per cent

Hostel and service fees at all public universities for the second semester of the 2019/2020 academic session has been reduced by up to 15 per cent, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Minister of Higher Education Datuk Dr Noraini Ahmad said the move involved a total allocation of RM72 million, of which RM20 million was approved by the Ministry of Finance and the other RM52 million will be from the internal allocation of the universities.

The minister said the fees were reduced following complaints and feedback from students and parents whose household income was badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A total of 523,318 students of public universities nationwide will benefit from this,” she said in reply to Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin (PH-Hang Tuah Jaya) during question time.

Shamsul Iskandar had wanted to know whether the government was planning to refund part of the fees paid by the students since they were unable to attend lectures on campus since March due to the pandemic.

Meanwhile, in reply to Shamsul Iskandar’s original question on the full reopening of higher education institutions (IPT) in October, Noraini said the IPT had been given the flexibility to decide on the modes of learning deemed suitable for their programmes.

She said this includes adopting the online teaching and learning method.

“However, the teaching and learning process must always be in compliance with the standard operating procedure set by the government,” she said.

On July 8, the government had agreed to allow four other categories of students to return to campus in stages starting this month before the full reopening of all IPT in October.

To ensure smooth implementation of the decision, Noraini said IPT and students alike must make all the necessary preparations starting from now.

-- BERNAMA