GEORGE TOWN – Perak’s Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) has apologised for turning down an offer by Ustaz Ebit Lew to charter 20 buses to ferry home stranded students following the postponement of face-to-face registration due to a spike in Covid-19 cases.
In its public apology to the preacher, whose acts of charity have earned him a large following on social media, the institution said there has been a miscommunication.
“The vice-chancellor sent a voice note to Ustaz Ebit Lew, explaining that if he wants to provide assistance and financial aid, we will absolutely accept it. But to take our students out of campus, there is a procedure to follow,” a UPSI spokesman told The Vibes.
“The Health Ministry and National Security Council did not announce a special movement control order, and our campus is still green (free of Covid-19). We have the facilities for students on campus.
“If we need to send students home, we will. If some of them want to return home, their parents can contact the university and make arrangements.”
A UPSI Faculty of Music and Performing Arts student said she was supposed to have a mix of online and in-class lessons this semester, and so, she rented a room off-campus a week before classes were due to begin this month.
“I went back to Tg Malim, and paid my rental and deposit to my landlord. I thought we’d have face-to-face classes, too. After the Higher Education Ministry announced that all classes will be conducted online, I didn’t know what to say.
“I’ve paid my rental, so I might as well stay here first.”
Another student, who wanted to be known only as Jenny, said she has bought a flight ticket back to her hometown of Miri, Sarawak, where she will undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.
“I really hope that either the university or Higher Education Ministry will give us detailed instructions on our classes and the reopening dates. Even if they can’t give us a date, the instruction on whether to return to campus must be announced earlier.
“There is no point asking us to go back if they don’t even know what the situation will be like in two or three months.”
Financial assistance is welcome, she said, as many students need to travel back to their hometowns in other states.
There are approximately 6,000 students on the UPSI campus.
Penang’s Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), meanwhile, had a “drive-through” registration even before the ministry announcement, with students completing the process in just three minutes.
Students were given three options: register and stay on campus, register and head back home, or register, drop off their belongings on campus and head back home.
Those who have yet to sign up can do so online, said the varsity.
“The risk is when there are students travelling from places with a high number of cases, and these students are asymptomatic,” said Prof Baharudin Ibrahim, president of the USM Academic and Administrative Staff Association.
“This puts others at risk.
“At USM, we are considering giving food vouchers to students on campus so that they don’t have to go out. This will be discussed further.” – The Vibes, October 6, 2020
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