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Nadiem defends university tuition fee hike
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The UKT system was launched in 2013 as a way to streamline university tuition payments, and the single fee is adjusted based on a student’s economic situation. (Shutterstock/File)
E
ducation, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim has defended a new university tuition policy that opponents say could put an excessive financial burden on some students, noting that the fee hikes apply only to new state university students above a certain income threshold.
Speaking to lawmakers on House of Representatives Commission X overseeing education in a hearing on Tuesday, Nadiem dismissed concerns that increasing prices in the single tuition fee (UKT) system might make it difficult for students to see their education through to graduation. He said the new policy would only impact incoming students and not those already enrolled in public universities.
The UKT system was launched in 2013 as a way to streamline university tuition payments, and the single fee is adjusted based on a student’s economic situation.
How the system works and how the fees are calculated has been altered multiple times since through ministerial regulations
“The basic principles of the UKT policy are justice and inclusivity. The tuition fees [are calculated] in tiers. This means that students from well-off families pay more and students from less fortunate families pay less,” Nadiem said.
“[The tuition price hike] will only impact new students, and it will not even impact students whose economic conditions are inadequate,” he added.
Lawmakers summoned Nadiem to the hearing following protracted complaints from the student executive bodies (BEM) of a number of state universities that the increase in tuition fees for this year’s incoming cohort would be burdensome to prospective students.
