STUDENTS caught in a registration fiasco said today the Higher Education Ministry could have acted in a more professional manner by issuing clear statements to universities.

Students have been stuck on campuses after a last-minute decision to move classes and registration online following a surge in Covid-19 cases in the country.

Thousands were caught off-guard as they were on the way to their campuses to begin a new semester. 

Many students who spoke to the Malaysian said they are trying to sustain themselves on campus while the authorities find a solution to their predicament.

Universiti Malaya law student Farhan Amran said this is not the first time the ministry has botched its response to Covid-19.

“It happened previously on whether students can go back for Hari Raya or not during the enhanced movement-control order. Now this. Can they be clearer on what to do or when they issue a statement? Because of the unclear statement from the ministry, the universities interpret the statement in a wrong way, causing more confusion.

“Luckily for us in UM, we made it clear that all new students can stay on campus. UM, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and International Islamic University of Malaysia have all made it clear for the new intakes,” said the final-year law student.

According to Farhan, a student mobilisation campaign was initiated yesterday to help those unable to return home after the ministry proposed to postpone classes.

“We managed to help a handful of students from different universities. The campaign was done online using social media. It was an organic movement.

“Like students from UiTM (Universiti Teknologi Mara). They had to leave their campus so we helped by providing accommodation or money to return home.”

Koh Ling Xian, the chairman for student representative council Utar Sg Long said many of the students have paid up deposits for house rent.

Koh said if classes are all conducted online, students will lose their deposits.

“The main issue here is there were no clear guidelines from the ministry and now the management is not sure what actions to take. Students are the victims here.

“Since Utar doesn’t have its own hostel, students normally rent outside. Initially, the ministry allowed physical classes to be conducted and UTAR made arrangements following the previous announcement. Some of the students opting for physical classes have already paid for their rental or deposit.

“This last-minute announcement caused chaos. If full online mode is conducted again, most of the students will choose to burn their deposit and go back to their hometown because they are worried about a full lockdown since cases are increasing,” said Koh.

A student who wished to remain anonymous said she had to borrow some money from a friend to return to Kuantan.

“I had no choice. That was the only option and I had no time to wait for help from the student movement. I was just thinking about reaching home as fast as I can.

“I am worried if I get stuck longer and the government decides to impose total lockdown. That would be a big problem,” said the accountancy student from UiTM.

Asdaque Danish from University Technology Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur expressed disappointment with the latest announcement.

The first-year chemical engineering degree student was anticipating the new semester.

“I was excited for the first day of my degree programme. But now our classes have to be online and it is quite sad and disappointing.” – October 4, 2020.