KUALA LUMPUR – Former education minister Maszlee Malik (Simpang Renggam-Independent) suggested that the government implement an exchange programme for university students in Malaysia, including public and private tertiary education institutions.
He told Dewan Rakyat today that this can help the government limit the movement of students as they travel from one end of the country to another to pursue their education.
“We know that we need to limit public movement. But what do we do with students who are from Sabah but are studying in UiTM Shah Alam? What about those from Perlis or Kedah who study in Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS)? They will still have to travel and there’s a lot of movement.
“The universities should have a credit transfer programme involving all universities in this country – public and private. This way, that student in Kedah doesn’t have to travel all the way back to his university in Sabah to continue his education.
“The same can be applied to the Sabah student who attends classes in UiTM Shah Alam. This way, they don’t have to travel.”
However, he added that this credit transfer would only be applicable when two universities have the same course.
For instance, if the Kedah student in UMS is studying mechanical engineering and the same course is offered in Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Kedah, that student should be able to transfer his credit to UUM from UMS and further his studies there.
This would be able to limit cross-state Covid-19 transmissions while allowing Malaysian students to complete their tertiary education. – The Vibes, September 15, 2021
