
The higher education ministry said the move will cost the government an overall RM185.7 million and benefit 386,142 students in three semesters.
In a statement, it said service, hostel, convocation and college activity fees were reduced by an average of 10% to 35% from the second semester of the 2019/2020 academic year.
This involves an allocation of RM75 million, of which RM55 million is from internal university funds.
For the 2020/2021 academic year, a RM70.2 million fee reduction has been given, while in the second session of the same academic year, another cut of RM40.5 million has been granted.
The ministry said the move to cut fees takes into account the needs of students and parents who are financially affected by the pandemic.
“In March, we instructed public universities to give some flexibility and fair consideration to students facing trouble paying fees, especially those having financial problems.
“We also feel that the reduction is reasonable, given that the 20 public universities have to bear the burden of high operational costs.
“This is on top of having to bear such costs using internal funds at a time when there is less revenue from tuition fees and a reduced operating allocation by the government due to the pandemic,” it said.
Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram