Decision on fees known soon

Press, 6 September 1989, Page 8

Decision on fees known soon

Malaysian seventh-form and firstyear university students can expect to hear in the next two weeks whether they will receive any New Zealand help with their fees next year.

A spokesman for the Associate Minister of External Relations and Trade, Ms Wilde, said yesterday that the Minister was considering the position of Malaysian students caught in the transition to full-fee charges and the recent cut in scholarships available to them.

“The Minister is examining New Zealand’s commitments to other ’ developing countries. If there is ” money available — and it is doubt- 1 ful whether there will be — then we shall be looking at what we might be able to do,” he said. A group of Malaysian students which visited Ms Wilde last week had been told that they had been informed in advance that a full-fee system would be introduced. The spokesman said the students had asked why Malaysia was no

longer being given normal development assistance. “The students were told that New Zealand’s primary area of interest is the South Pacific, then South-East Asia. When looked at on a per capita income basis it is clear that Malaysia is moving ahead of many other countries,” he said. The spokesman said it looked unlikely the students would receive assistance because the aid budget was tight.