Wilson Moorthy, 54, whose daughter is pursuing a computer science degree at Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), Pekan, said all students had been studying off campus since the lockdown began in March and classes had been conducted online.
However, he said, repeated calls for the university to defer exams to a later date or have them done online, had been ignored.
Wilson said after repeated calls to the chancellor’s office, he was told yesterday that exemptions would only be given if there was a doctor’s letter confirming a student was Covid-19 positive.
“At a time the health ministry is asking us to stay at home to stay safe, students are asked to take exams on campus. We hear scary stories about students testing negative earlier, but only to be tested positive later.
“How are the students to sit for exams at a time when they are panicking, anxious over Covid-19? Can you imagine what state of mind they are in when they are forced to pay hostel rent, airfare and others, just to sit for exams and go back to their hometowns after?
“I don’t want my daughter in Penang to go to Pahang, get infected and come back here to spread the virus further. If UMP still insists, I plan to take legal action,” the single parent of two told FMT.
It is learned there are 800 students at the computing faculty who will be sitting for finals as early as Sunday, as part of a total of 3,000 others sitting for exams.
UMP’s final exams will be held from Oct 5 to 16, with another session from Oct 19 to 30, according to a circular. Students will have to return to their homes after taking the exams.
However, those travelling from Sabah, and those in targeted enhanced movement control order (TEMCO) lockdowns in yellow and red states can skip the exams, with separate exams for them later, a UMP notice dated Sept 28 read.
Negotiations fell through
The students’ council pushed the university management to hold online exams and for final projects to be completed at home, but this was rejected, council president Mohd Fitri Zulkaffli said in a statement.
He said besides Covid-19 concerns, the other was the cost of travelling back to campus for exams. He said rental of hostels and the cost of sustenance was also worrisome, as 70% of students were from the B40 (low-income) group.
Fitri also said the students, 50% of whom are relying on government student loans under PTPTN, had yet to be given their cost of living allowances and course fees as they had not sat for their finals.
He said 19 other universities had completed their final exams earlier and PTPTN had paid their dues to them.
Fitri said the council presented the pleas to UMP on June 24, including a demand for a Covid-19 risk control guarantee if students returned for face-to-face exams.
However, he said UMP had turned down their proposals, with the management raising concerns over integrity issues involving those sitting for exams online.
Fitri said the integrity issue should not be a problem with two other public universities successfully holding online exams with low chances of plagiarism. “Face-to-face examinations continue to be the source of endless problems for us.”
In a statement, UMP said after discussions with PTPTN, the student’s dues would be credited to borrowers on Oct 7. The university, however, did not comment on the issue of face-to-face exams.
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