KUALA LUMPUR — The Education Ministry (MoE) has visited UCSI International School following allegations that the school imposed a 2 per cent daily charge on parents for late payment of school fees.
The ministry said the issue arose from a misunderstanding and found no regulatory breaches.
A senior MoE official told Scoop that the ministry conducted a site visit this morning after receiving complaints and concluded that the allegation of a daily late payment penalty was unfounded.
“The ministry does not regulate late payment charges, as our jurisdiction is limited to the approval of school fees,” the official said.
“In this case, our investigation found that the issue stemmed from a misunderstanding between a parent and a school staff member. There was no imposition of a 2 per cent daily charge, and no regulatory breach was identified.”
The official added that the inspection team visited the school following instructions from the minister and was satisfied with the explanation provided.
Late payment charges, he noted, are considered an industry practice and fall outside the ministry’s regulatory scope, provided the approved school fees remain unchanged.
“The ministry is satisfied with the school’s explanation and has found no issues following its investigation,” the official said.
Meanwhile, UCSI International School chief executive officer Willie Tan Moh Leong said the controversy was sparked by unclear wording in a routine fee reminder sent by a staff member who is about to resign, which gave a parent the impression that a daily penalty was being imposed.
“This matter arose due to a miscommunication in a routine follow-up message, which led to a misunderstanding regarding the school’s late payment policy,” Willie told Scoop.
“Regrettably, the wording — ‘2% late levied on a daily basis’ — lacked clarity and understandably gave the impression that a 2 per cent charge was applied daily.”
Willie emphasised that the school has never imposed a 2 per cent daily late payment charge, describing such claims as inaccurate.
The school’s actual policy stipulates a 2 per cent monthly late payment charge, calculated on a prorated daily basis, and has been in place since the school’s founding.
“This policy is clearly communicated to parents through multiple channels, including the official fee schedule, admission forms, the Parent Handbook, fee invoices and reminder emails,” he added.
Tan also confirmed that he had personally contacted the parent involved to apologise and clarify the misunderstanding.
“We take such concerns seriously and believe it is important to engage openly, respectfully and promptly with parents when misunderstandings arise,” he said, adding that steps had been taken to ensure all future fee-related communications are “clear, accurate and unambiguous”.
Previously, Scoop reported that the issue was first brought to its attention by a parent, who described the alleged 2 per cent daily late payment charge as “unacceptable” and likened it to being “worse than an Ah Long (moneylender)”.
The parent said he was told by a school accounts executive that the charge was part of the school’s standard operating procedure, prompting concerns that such a high fee could amount to hundreds of ringgit per day and potentially be unlawful. — January 15, 2026
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