- Wartawan Nabalu News
MoHE urged to revise physical exams with varsities - DAPSY Sabah
4 April 2022
By Wartawan Nabalu News
KOTA KINABALU: Democratic Action Party Socialist Youth (DAPSY) stated that varsity students residing in Sabah are worried over the compulsory physical exams.
"We are transitioning to the endemic period but we must be cautious and take other factors into consideration before implementing compulsory physical exams," said DAPSY Sabah Bureau Chief of Millennials Chan Loong Wei in a statement.
"After reopening the borders, airfare has surged significantly, has the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) looked into this for East Malaysian students who have to return to Semenanjung to attend physical exams?
"Temporary accommodation is also an issue, if students are only attending a week of examinations, where should they stay? Hotels? Has varsities looked into this before announcing physical exams?
"I just looked into the airfare for April and May, from Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur, the average one way ticket costs more than RM400 per pax, this has not included their accommodations and other costs," he said.
Other than that, the DAPSY Kota Kinabalu Chief has also pointed out that some universities would force students to defer or retake another examination at a later date if they could not attend due to being COVID-19 positive.
"This is alarming, it would risk not one or two but all students attending the examination hall.
"Students infected with COVID-19 might still attend the examination to prevent themselves from graduating at a later date.
"This might trigger another clusters nationwide after students return to their respective states,” he added.
Chan also urges MoHE minister, Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad and the Sabah government to look into mechanisms to accommodate these students and subsidise their transportation cost to allow them to return to campus.
"Both the federal ministry and the Sabah government must sit down and look at this issue. Discuss on how to subsidise transportation costs for East Malaysian students returning to campus for exams, make sure they return safely and not cause additional financial burden to their families.
"Involve the major stakeholders - the students, the student councils into meetings. I am also willing to provide inputs if both governments are ready to discuss on this matter.
"Don't overlook this major issue and only regret later, don't put varsity students at stake and risk their health in exchange for better results. The government always says that the youths of this country are the leaders tomorrow, walk the talk and stop ignoring their voices," he stated.
