Registration at University Problems.. Reasons [Archives:2000/43/Reportage]

Nassry A. Al-Saqqaf
Yemen Times
Registration at the University has become a difficult matter. This year registration and tuition fees have suddenly shot-up from 2500 to 6000 rials. Yemeni Universities presidents failed in decreasing the fees following Yemeni Universities Council presided by Dr. Abdul-Karim Al-Iryani, the prime minister who insisted on that decision.
This year much has prevailed registration and admission procedures. Beside registration committees, there have been other partisan committees affiliate of the Peoples General Congress Party and the Yemeni Congregation for Reform, competing with each other.
Yemen Times investigated into these problems with a number of university officials, students and party committees and came out with the following report:

Abdul-Razzaq Al-Mahbashi, University General Registrar, says There is a difference in registration regarding the choices of specialization. In the previous years there used to be three choices for students, but this year the process is different. There is only one choice for registration and admission. This procedure greatly facilitates the arrangements for registration, which lasted for a month last year. After that the registration lasted for another month. Now the whole process takes only one month. As for the fees, they are the same except for the fees imposed by the Ministry of Finance, which are 3500 rials for the theoretical colleges and 5000 rials for the scientific ones. It is a decision taken by the Council of Ministers or by the University Supreme Council last year but it was not carried out then.
On whether students demonstrations would lead to cancel the decision he said that he did not think so and that it was being under discussion in the Council of Ministers. However, we take into consideration the fact that there are some students who will not be able to pay these fees. The decision gives the University president a right to exempt about 5% of the total number of students from the fees. The decision was approved since last year to help students who have social and financial difficulties.
About whether those committees are formed by the Students Affairs department, he said No, it seems that they are assigned by parties which want to assert their role in front of students. We have not given any assignment for any committee.
While in the University we noticed that many committees from the GCP, YCR, the Yemeni Students General Union and the Scouts Group were distributed in all faculties. Yemen Times interviewed some of the committees to find out about the purpose for their presence in the University and to know if the students cooperate with them and if they do any good to students.

Alawi Al-Saqqaf, YCR, said that those committees were there to serve students and that students respond to them. He added that the committees role is to
a) explain the registration procedures to students.
b) put in order the papers according to the University regulations.
He said There is a discrimination between the members of the two parties regarding dealings. Members of the other parties take their papers to the Students Union as being representative of all students. The Students General Union represents the University students who in general belong to different parties.
Those committees are there to help facilitate procedures for Students. Besides, those committees can neither register nor omit a students name.
The committees presence might be a good phenomenon as it means helping students. Other parties were not obliged to remain away.

Mohammad Hamoud Al-Radhmi, from Yemeni Students General Union, says: These committees are set up for the benefit of the students as they help them with the registration procedures and also reducing the fees from 5000 to 2500. There is interaction between the students and these committees.
There were only two committees for the GCP and YCR. This is, perhaps, because these two have large public bases. The discrimination was only between the two big parties. The Union is for all students. The students, who do not belong to either party, go directly to the Union.
Regarding the legitimacy of these committees, he said There is a legitimate approval to form these committees. Finally, the University Rector approved the Union and now there are elections inside the University to nominate chairmen for societies and department representatives who are from the students themselves.

Ibrahim Al-Kibsi, GCP, said The committees were available at the University so as to facilitate registration process for students. There is a positive cooperation between the students and the committees. There is no official approval of these committees. The University was built for teaching all, not for any political party.

Registration Difficulties Facing the Students This Year
Yemen Times interviewed some university students to closely find out about the problems they are facing in the registration procedures for this year.

Abdul-Fattah Ismail, Faculty of Arts, English Department, said There are many obstacles and complicated routine in the registration process. Students have no information about the rules and regulations of registration. Information office is responsible for that, but it has no activity.
Today we were surprised by further extension of admission period without receiving any prior notification, unfortunately. I think the rise in fees was made by the government and the Prime Minister a year ago and many universities have applied it except Sanaa University. This is because the court had passed a decision in the students favor. Surely, a lot of students will be affected by the oppressive law of raising the fees and will miss their chances of education. And I think the government is still raising the slogan of free education until now.

Lutf Dhabian, Faculty of Arts, says: The biggest difficulty were facing is the oppressive decision of raising fees taken by the Ministry of Finance. Students can not cope with that because all of them suffer from difficult financial problems. We urge the government to be co-operative and merciful with us and not to deprive us of our opportunity in education.

Dunia Alawi Al-Rabashi, Faculty of Languages, says,There are many difficulties among which the high registration fees is the most important. We are not rich enough to pay such fees and we hope the University Rector could decrease them. Concerning the committees, they are of a high value for us because they help us in the registration procedures and I urge all the students to co-operate with them.

Ashwaq Daud, Department of Psychology, says The most important hindrance were facing is the high fees, which are higher than they used to be in previous years. We demand the University Rector to lower these oppressive fees, which are about 6500 rials. Such an oppressive decision shocked many students. As for the committees, I think they are available here to serve the students in the registration process.

Saly Adnan Al-Adimi, Faculty of Languages, says The most important difficulty for us is the high admission fees. We hope that the University Rector will lower them because we are still students not businessmen. I find the committees of great value for they cooperate with the students in the registration process.

Faris Abdu Mohammad Al-Hakami, Faculty of Archaeology, says The fees are extremely high this year and this forms a big problem for the students and makes them depressed specially the unemployed ones. The committees are to help students with registration. These committees work for free and at the same time they gain publicity for their parties.

Husien Yahya Musleh, Faculty of Commerce, says, The most important difficulty were encountering at the University today is the extremely high registration fees. The fees began with 2500 rials and suddenly jumped to 6000 rials. This sudden jump caused a big shock to those students who came late for registration. We are still students and these fees are so high that the majority of us cannot afford them. We demand the University Rector to take this into consideration and lower the fees to what they used to be previously. The committees mean nothing to me, what I most care about is the registration fees.

Hani Abbas Al-Saqqaf, Taiz University, English Department, says, This year, the government universities wanted to raise the fees but because students protested against the law, the law was abolished in some governorates. Most students cannot pay such fees owing to their bad financial conditions, specially students in Taiz University whose colleges were moved to outside the city. Every student will need from 80 to 120 rials per day for transportation, the matter that might lead students to quit the university.
Moreover, a lot of corruption have prevailed in the University; bribery, favoritism and burdening student with invaluable handouts and books. Many professors, doctors and lecturers trade in education as they agree with photocopy shops owners on a certain ratio of profit.

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