Students, parents concerned over fees
The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta/Bogor/Bandung
Sumarni, 51, wants nothing but the best for her eldest daughter Imsak Sukmawati -- who hopes to study law at Gadjah Mada University -- but money is an obstacle.
"I was unable to pay the Rp 10 million (US$1063) admission fee by today (Friday last week), the last day I had to pay the fee.
"Had the university waived the admission fee, I would have been able to pay the rest of the fees," said Sumarni, who visited the UGM on Friday to request special consideration for her daughter's case.
Sumarni -- a sports teacher at Sragen Senior High School 3 in Sragen -- said she had saved over Rp 2 million to pay for Imsak's education, which was no easy task as her salary is low and her husband was laid off after the economic crisis.
"If the university refuses to assist us, my daughter will be unable to continue with her education," said Sumarni.
Imsak, 19, who accompanied her mother, said she would probably seek a job and maybe study part-time at university.
Sugiono, 19, of Kendal in Central Java, was accepted to study political and social sciences at the UGM.
He said, when he sat his university entrance test in the Central Java capital of Semarang, he had not been notified of the admission fee.
"I was surprised when I was told this morning that I had to pay an admission fee of Rp 5 million," said Sugiono. The admission fee varies depending on the student's entrance test score, and can be as high as Rp 20 million.
Sugiono said his father earned little as a farmer and couldn't pay the fee. On the same day, Sugiono approached the UGM student body, hoping that it could assist him. As of last Friday, 13 parties had approached the student body seeking special consideration.
Assistant to UGM's deputy rector for students and alumni Eddy O.S. Hiariej said that the university would make a particular arrangement for those parents who were unable to pay the admission fee.
He said that the deadline to pay the admission fee had been extended until Tuesday (Aug. 24).
"If they really can't pay, they must provide evidence of their financial status. Only then will we discuss whether we can grant them dispensation," said Eddy.
Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), on the other hand, has already promised poor students dispensation.
Siti M, an IPB student, for example, was told she wouldn't have to pay the admission fee, while her tuition fees and other expenses for first semester were reduced to Rp 850,000 from Rp 1,775,000, after she showed a letter from her subdistrict office stating she is from a poor family.
Similar to the IPB, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) is assisting poor students by providing booths X1 and X2, through which students can request special consideration, or payment plans tailored to their needs.
"Some have asked to pay their fees in stages. Others have asked that their fees be waived," said Adang Surahman, deputy ITB rector for students and academics.
Adang said the institute implemented a cross-subsidy scheme to assist poor students. He said, this year, the ITB accepted some 530 out of a total 2,800 students through the scheme. Those students are admitted to the institute but have to pay Rp 45 million each on average. "From the scheme, we have collected more than Rp 23 billion. This enables us to waive the tuition fees of 500 students, up from 50 students last year," said Adang.