SIMPLIFYING ACCOMMODATION SEARCH
ONE of the top items on any students’ checklist upon enrolling or returning to campus is searching for accommodation. While many higher education institutions do offer accommodations, the number of available rooms is frequently insufficient to cater to all students.
As our population size increases from year to year, the same goes for the student population, causing a rise in demand and enrolment in higher education institutions. Coupled with the Higher Education Ministry’s focus on making the country an international higher education hub by 2025, all these have contributed to a rise in student enrolment.
Both local and international students will be on the hunt for accommodation when a semester begins. It is evident that the limited accommodation offered by higher education institutions has led to a spillover to off-campus housing. Several issues arise from this situation.
FIRST, students will have to familiarise themselves with various online platforms that advertise available spaces, while learning to be careful to not fall prey to scams.
SECOND, conditions of the home or the surrounding areas cannot be ensured merely through browsing websites. What is advertised as a beautiful living space in the outskirts of the campus may in fact be a rundown apartment in a distant location.
THIRD, the wellbeing of off-campus students cannot be monitored by higher education institutions, which will cause parents to worry.
Understanding and empathising with these challenges that students who must seek off-campus accommodation face, the Higher Education Ministry established a portal for student housing known as Portal Rumah Siswa, which will be launched tomorrow.
This portal serves as a unified platform where students can search for a house, apartment or room to rent in areas near their higher education institutions that suits their needs and budget. Houseowners are welcome to advertise their property on the portal.
A collaborative effort between the ministry’s Information Management Division and Adis Nabawi, an information technology officer from the International Islamic University of Malaysia, Portal Rumah Siswa is a new normal digital initiative that accelerates the process of institutionalising digital change for various parties, especially higher education institutions.
Based on the Business Process Automation, this portal strengthens communication between the management of higher education institutions, property owners and students. This provides an opportunity to engineer
work processes that are in line with the new norms for the continuity of long-term service delivery.
The ministry strongly supports digital transformation efforts that are in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The transformation must be embraced not only in education, but also at human and resource management levels of higher education institutions. After all, the most significant part of digital transformation is changing how things are done.
The establishment of the portal comes with the formation of an offcampus management unit meant to ensure the wellbeing of off-campus students. It serves as an administrator and adviser that monitors the implementation of off-campus student programmes and activities.
A guideline for off-campus student management has been developed in collaboration with the Malaysian Public Universities Housing Council to address issues on off-campus student development, student services, welfare management, house rental management and community network.
As of Dec 31, all 20 of Malaysia’s public universities have either established a portfolio for off-campus student management or are in the process of doing so. With these efforts well under way, students can enrol or return to campus with ease.
Attaining tertiary education is meant to push students out of their comfort zones, teach them to live independently and encourage them to achieve their potential. Just like attending classes, the experience of living away from home is part of the educational experience. Living off campus can contribute to the educational experience by making students feel they are part of the local community.
Hence, their living conditions should be comfortable and conducive to support the learning process. Students who are unable to secure accommodation on campus or those who prefer to live off campus are welcome to access Portal Rumah Siswa at rumahsiswa.mohe.gov.my.
Higher Education Minister