Gov’t Plans Standardized University Tuition

All universities, whether private or public, will soon be required to charge the same tuition, the director of the Ministry of Edu­cation’s Department of Higher Education said Monday.

The move is intended to encourage more students to enroll. “We will define an appropriate set price for state and private universities,” said Roth Sokha, director of the Higher Education Department. “We can’t let those universities arbitrarily charge what they want.”

The ministry’s plan to standardize fees already should have been in place, but it is un­able to carry out the changes be­cause a new government has not formed, Roth Sokha said.

“Faculties that society doesn’t much need, like history, biology, geography, we will charge less,” Roth Sokha said.

Accounting, economics and En­glish language faculties will charge more, he said. “Subjects which are less important will have to charge less and more important subjects will have to charge more, so this way is logical,” said Roth Sokha, adding that prices should not be as high as in Europe.

Hong Cheat, Norton University rector of finance, agreed with the department’s plan, provided the set prices were the minimum rath­er than the maximum a uni­ver­sity could charge.

Norton University charges students $480 per year in tuition for courses on the bachelor’s degree-level, he said. Good universities have to spend more money to pay for good teachers and facilities, he said. “Currently, some universities reduce their academic prices to draw more students, then they hire some unqualified teachers and grant the degree,” he said.

Rong Chhun, Cambodian Inde­pen­dent Teachers Associa­tion pre­sident, welcomed the proposal. “Universities charge a lot of money but don’t care about educational qualifications,” he said. “When the department sets the prices for universities, the universities will challenge each other to attract students, so the education system will im­prove.”

Tong Saran, Asean University administrator, said the ministry should provide places in state-run institutions for students too poor to study at private universities, rather than establishing set prices for all universities. Asean University char­ges $400 a year in tui­tion, he said. “We cannot go lower than $400 to $350 per academic year because we want to main­tain the educational standard.”