malaysiang— The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) has been urged to issue a directive for all higher learning institutions (IPTs) to extend the 14-week study period to 15 or 16 weeks for the next semester, if lecture sessions still need to be conducted online.
National Student Consultative Council (MPPK) president Muhammad Amir Asyraf Mohd Sabri said the implementation of online learning and teaching needed to be reviewed or improved following students’ concerns over their mental health.
He also appealed to the MOHE and IPTs’ management to pay attention and put emphasis on addressing the mental health issue among university students because the implementation of online teaching and learning which has been going on for more than a year had given them more stress.
“IPTs should also provide their students with a cooling-off period and ensure that lecturers will not ask them to submit assignments or conduct tests during that period,” he said in a statement today.
MPPK also conveyed its condolences to the families of two Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) students who died recently.
Nurul Natasya Ezreen Azemi, 22, was pursuing a diploma in Office Management and Technology, Faculty of Management and Business at UiTM Kedah branch, and Muhammad Adham Hazim Mohd Rizaini, 21, was pursuing a diploma in Civil Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering at Pahang branch.
UiTM Corporate Communications Department’s Public Relations, Media and Protocol, in a statement yesterday said that the university has always been involved in ensuring the students’ welfare and convenience would be met under the ODL (open distance learning) sessions.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
