Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Monday that allowing universities to charge a fee to provide student services would plug a gap created by the Howard government.
Rudd said the previous government had effectively undermined the income streams of Australian universities by scrapping compulsory student union fees.
"The universities have, therefore, had a gap in their funding," Australian Associated Press quoted Rudd as saying in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland.
He noted that the government believed it was necessary to give universities options to impose this charge and plug the gap.
Youth Minister Kate Ellis announced on Monday the government is set to restore student services at universities scrapped by the former Howard government - with a compulsory student fee of up to 250 Australian dollars (170 U.S. dollars) a year.
The new plan allows universities to charge students from July next year to help fund sporting facilities, child care, counseling and other student services.
Talking about the plan, Rudd said this was a "contribution which goes to universities, not to any individual student union, and it is entirely at the discretion of universities."
Source: Xinhua
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