“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.” 

– Mark Twain

AS usual, the Higher Education Ministry has been silent since March on contingency plans for tertiary students.  The minister appeared only to announce a TikTok competition and an ill-thought closure of tertiary institutions only to reverse (or rather U-turn) the decision later. She later appeared to watch the buses sending the students back to their hometowns.

Aren’t there any groundbreaking initiatives for students and academicis to sustain higher education amid a pandemic?

Tertiary institutions have been closed during the pandemic as a precaution to protect the health of students and staff. Most lecturers had to make do with online platforms to educate and interact with their students. Students have had to cope with online tutoring sessions instead of physical classes. Are those the only steps that could have been taken? Aren’t there any holistic contingency plans for students and the lecturers?

Campaigns initiated last year, Malaysia Membaca, Dekad Membaca Kebangsaan and Read @Faculty, have become torpid and dimmed down. Shouldn’t the encouragement of reading be intensified during this pandemic to make up for students and lecturers barred from attending physical classes? Don’t students have more time as they are staying at home? Isn’t the life of a student synonymous with reading?

Are university and college libraries unable to provide an online system to borrow and return books for students forced to return to their hometowns? There might be extra costs incurred, but that is why students pay fees. What is the point of those fees if students are unable to use the services at their varsities constrained by learning at their home?

Aren’t the national, state and district libraries incapable of providing a similar system for students who must learn at home? Aren’t these libraries closer to their homes than the institutions? Didn’t the Higher Education Ministry think about such a plan?

No pain, no gain

I have been curious about the fate of the Sasterawan @Faculty programme,  which was intended to highlight writers among staff and student? Has the welfare of national laureates been swept aside due to the change of minister?

If Britain is proud of Shakespeare, India proud of Tagore, Latin Americans proud of Marquez, the Czech Republic proud of Kafka, why are college staff and students denied the opportunity of being introduced to the nation’s writers? A collaboration between local universities, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) and Institute Terjemahan Buku Negara (ITBN) can spur the activities of our nation’s writers online. I believe that our nation’s writers are waiting for such an effort.

Amid this pandemic, renowned universities from developed countries are providing short online courses. During the movement control order, I had followed a couple of courses conducted by Durham University, London School of Economics, Manchester University, and Tesside University. I had promoted these online courses thru my social media platforms, especially on Twitter. Where are our universities  in this context?

If local institutions are incapable of offering similar online courses like those universities, they should  cooperate with those universities to offer such courses to our students and the public. These paid programmes should offer certificates and accreditations from those universities. There is no need for us to be like some of our politicians (and leaders) who bought their fake certificates online from questionable and often nonexistent universities.

At the very least, the ministry should collaborate with YouTube, Ted Talks, Khan Academy or other platforms that offer online education materials to supplement teaching aids at universities. The Malaysian Qualifications Agency needs to be creative and think outside of the box in this context. This situation that is being experienced by IPT denizens needs a solution and non-conventional intervention.

Students need moral support and motivation to learn as they are locked down at home. There are reports of mental crisis and stress that students face as they learn from home. The minister, senior academics and intellectuals should step up and offer advice and pep talks to students regularly on online platforms. Indonesia’s Education Ministry’s website is a good example of such an effort.

Internet connection issues might arise for the students living in suburban or rural areas. This matter is out of the higher education ministry’s grasp, it is under Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, Rural and Regional Development Ministry, Housing and Local Government Ministry and other agencies, such as Felda, Orang Asli Welfare Department and others. The Higher Education Ministry can contact communication companies to give rebates or special packages for students’ internet connection during this pandemic.

There are more intellectual initiatives that can be done to ensure students continue to learn during this pandemic.

The main question is, whether the Higher Education Ministry is ready to do so.

Or, where is our minister right now? – October 22, 2020.

* Dr Maszlee Malek is Simpang Renggam MP. He reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.