UI admission fee to be voluntarily

JAKARTA: The University of Indonesia (UI) rector Usman Chatib Warsa said on Saturday the high admission fees for new students were voluntary.

"It's not true that the admission fee is obligatory for all students, regardless of whether they come from poor or rich families," he said.

The rector said that around 3,500 new students, admitted through regular tests, would not be obliged to "contribute between Rp 25 million (US$2,717) and Rp 75 million".

He said only about 200 students who were accepted through a special scheme had agreed to pay the admission fee. The money would be used to improve the quality of education at the university, he said.

Usman said poor students would not have to pay the admission fee as long as they could show a letter from a subdistrict office stating their families were unable to afford the fee. -- Antara