THE fact that 17,000 students have recently dropped out of public and private universities are alarming educationists, who demand that the Higher Education Ministry (MOHE) do more to help the affected youth.

The ministry’s efforts in this regard have been unsatisfactory so far and the problem, if left unattended, will have an impact on the country’s future, they said.

On March 3, Higher Education Minister Dr Noraini Ahmad told parliament that 17,613 students dropped out of public university last year, while 5,165 students had suspended their studies at the same time.

She said 20,577 students in private universities had also opted to defer their studies.

Noraini said the reasons for their postponing of tertiary education were personal, health or financial problems.

Zul Fikri Zamir, CEO of education-focused organisation, Untuk Malaysia, said the figures reflect the socio-economic situation of the students and showed that many people had yet to recover from the economic hardship brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns.

The published author and educator said the real dropout figures could even be higher than those cited by the MOHE.

“The actual figure may be two or three times higher,” he said.

Zul said MOHE to to lay out the steps it has taken to ensure affected students do not give up on tertiary education altogether.

“Such input is important for us to understand what happened and how it could be avoided,” he said.

University students from poor families must be encouraged to continue their education as it is often the only chance for their families to escape poverty, he added.

“If the government does not help them continue their education, their families have little chance of changing their futures,.”

Zul asked MOHE for concrete action to ensure university dropouts are not left behind.

“Will MOHE offer these students a special programme to help them graduate under special conditions or will the government just let all these children be left behind without any qualifications?” he said.

“I doubt any of these students intentionally dropped out when the pandemic occurred. There must be a reason that pushed them to make such a big decision. What responsibilities has the government fulfilled towards them in difficult times?”

Minister Noraini had revealed steps MOHE had taken to help students struggling with home-based learning during the pandemic.

She said among the measures is giving universities flexibility in determining the PdPR methods as well as on assessment and evaluation.

In addition, the ministry also provides scholarships and financial assistance to target groups, including those in the B40 category.

The MOHE, through counselling and guidance units in public universities, also provided counselling services and psychosocial support to students who were under emotional or mental stress.

Malaysian Association for Education vice-president Mohd Majid Konting said university students who lacked internet access were likely to have been demotivated by the need to study from home.

“There are many reasons why students quit their studies. In the case of pandemic years, we noticed that almost all students and their teachers have had to swiftly adjust themselves to online teaching and learning,” he said.

“All of a sudden, both teachers and students have to master and become skilled in technology while some faced issues of access to f basic technological infrastructure,” he said.

“Those who cannot survive will be likely to drop out from the system. If they are given the opportunity to come back to resume their studies in the near future, surely some will do so.” – March 23, 2022.