Scrap Zero Balance Policy, student unions urge UM

Summary

• Universiti Malaya student unions demand the immediate removal of the policy requiring full fee payment before course registration, as it financially burdens students.

• Student leaders urge UM to provide financial aid, allow installment payments, and extend deadlines, especially for Satu students, many of whom struggle to pay fees upfront.

Several Universiti Malaya student unions urged the varsity to immediately scrap its “Zero Balance Policy” across all of its campuses.

The policy requires undergraduates to pay their fees in full before they can register for courses.

This comes after UM decided to implement the measure for its 2023/2024 academic session despite abandoning it earlier due to opposition from undergraduates and the public.

It was initially set to be implemented in 2022 but was halted following opposition from the Universiti Malaya Students’ Union (Umsu).

Unimpressed with the recent turn of events, Umsu president Abqari Annuar said UM should offer financial aid for needy students instead.

“They should also postpone the deadline for fee payment and allow students to pay their fees in instalments,” he said in a statement today.

Abqari said this after several UM student unions delivered a memorandum to the varsity vice-chancellor in front of the Chancellery Building today.

Also present were Umsu vice president Lim Jing Jet, Suara Siswa UM president Nicklaus Anak Lequesne, Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) vice president Tang Yi Ze, and University of Malaya Centre for Continuing Education president Idham Surni.

According to a report by Free Malaysia Today last year, Abqari said the proposal was floated by the university again in 2023, sparking protests from student groups, which resulted in UM scrapping the policy for students admitted via its university central unit (UPU) track.

However, the policy remains in place for students admitted through its direct intake mechanism (Satu), involving students whose fees were not subsidised by the government.

‘UM will ultimately get paid’

Meanwhile, Abqari refuted UM’s justification for implementing the Zero Balance Policy, which is to ensure sufficient financial resources.

He pointed out that even before the policy was introduced, students were required to settle the payment before being able to view their final examination results and proceed to the next semester.

“UM will still ultimately receive the full amount of fees,” he stressed.

He also opposed implementing the policy on those who gain entry under the Satu system.

Citing a survey involving 200 Satu students, he claimed 35 percent of respondents come from B40 families, and 70 percent of all respondents have difficulties paying their tuition fees immediately.

Separately, Lim urged UM to provide financial aid and extend the payment deadline for the affected Satu students.

He claimed that UM management had declined Satu students’ request citing “any changes to the payment mode must first be brought to the UM management committee for approval first”.

Lim asked, “Why is UM adhering to rigid bureaucratic processes on such a critical decision, impacting students' education?

“This matter should be treated with urgency.

“In the future, UM management must include student representatives in any decision-making process regarding future changes to fee policies to ensure that students’ interests are effectively protected.”

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