No access to campus for research

I AM the parent of postgraduate research students who are currently studying at local and private universities. After the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) on March 18, my children were forced to stop doing their physical research on campus.

When Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaacob announced on May 17 that all postgraduate research students would be allowed to resume their physical research on campus, I was extremely grateful and happy.

For the past two months, I could see that my three children were very depressed and anxious most of the time. Compared to undergraduate students who could continue with their lessons online, my children could not do much on their physical research at home besides reading journal papers and analysing their past research data.

Therefore, I really welcomed the government’s decision to allow research students to resume their work on campus.

However, the private university in which one of my children is enrolled has set its own rules and is not allowing research students to resume work on campus.

No reasons were given, and this is really saddening. My other children who are doing postgraduate research with local public universities have been allowed to resume their work.

This anomaly makes me wonder why the private university concerned is refusing to follow the government’s order.

I pay high fees for my child to study at this private university. During the MCO period, I did not demand for a refund of the fees even though my child was not allowed to study on campus.

I hope the Higher Education Minister will look seriously into this matter. I believe there are thousands of research students who are being discriminated by their university management.

These universities should be identified and severely reprimanded for not following the government and nation’s law.