By Aqilah Bahar
The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) made yet another seemingly slapdash announcement after the October tragedy that caused public outrage especially among university students.
On 19 December, it was made public that universities shall be expecting students to return to their campuses in March at the earliest. However, this is still in the early stage of discussion and will be tabled for approval to the National Security Council (NSC) soon.
Earlier in October, Dr. Noraini Ahmad was highly criticised for what was seen as her incompetency and a last minute decision that caused fury among returning students. Universities were instructed to resume academic sessions and made necessary arrangements to receive students for the opening in October only to be u-turned at the very last hour by the Ministry.
Angered and overwhelmed by the retraction of the Ministry’s decision, netizens voiced their outrage online and how this last minute postponement troubled not only students but their families.
Many who travelled long hours with their families had to do a one-eighty back to their homes. Some had to cancel their flight bookings before they could return to colleges, and worst a few others had already arrived only to be left stranded with no money for a return trip.
Observing reactions and responses of Twitter users, many students expressed their worries of having to witness the same occurrence twice and some others feared to be re-experiencing the chaos back in October. As a fellow student myself, I have to say our thoughts are parallel.
Looking back to the day when the Ministry of Higher Education first announced their decision to resume on-campus learning and allow returning of students, they had approximately two months to come up with policies and develop backup strategies in fear of the events going south. Unfortunately, their eleventh hour resolution proved otherwise.
Dr. Noraini Ahmad claimed that the Ministry is working closely with universities to ensure careful planning and solid standard operating procedures (SOP) to welcome students in March. I am, however, highly concerned whether universities are well equipped and adequately funded to accommodate thousands of students at one time while maintaining a safe space.
As supported by scientists and researchers around the world, social (or physical) distancing is important to prevent the transmission of coronavirus. Considering the limited number of lecture halls and packed hallways, will there be enough spaces and means to ensure a 2-metre social distancing rule? How will the administration warrant the students’ safety in their respective dormitories while ensuring a safe distance?
Moreover, free swab testing should be made compulsory for every student to avoid unwarranted COVID-19 cases around campus. Site cleaning and frequent disinfection should also be taken into account to guarantee a clean environment for in-campus learning.
The problem in question is if there is enough funding for preventive measures. The answers to the posed questions lie within the authorities.
With daily recorded COVID-19 cases remain at average 1,000 cases, it is critical to ensure that this decision is backed with revised plans and careful deliberations from both universities and the Ministry of Higher Education.
Preventive and precautionary measures shall enable to reduce the possibility of contracting infections with maximum cooperation from the university communities. To foster a safe learning environment, discussions on essential matters should be intensively examined by MOHE.
What remains is whether there will be another u-turn if cases were to flare up days before the academic sessions resume. That, we shall anticipate. ***
(This article is written as part of individual assignment series for Feature Writing class)