Sleepless over safety of returning students

AMID the global pandemic, a huge number of sponsored Malaysian students abroad, especially medical and dental students, came back to Malaysia. They are now required to return to their respective universities to continue their studies. Unfortunately, the countries involved have among the highest number of Covid-19 cases globally, such as the United Kingdom and Indonesia.

Being a concerned parent, I can’t help but wonder if there are or would be any contingency plans by the government to help these students so that they need not go back for now.

For instance, is there a possibility for them to partly carry out their clinical placements in globally recognised Malaysian universities such as Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Sains Malaysia till the end of 2020? Is there a possibility of setting up collaborations between these local universities and the universities abroad?

Students abroad live in private residences unlike in Malaysia where they stay on campus. They have to use public transport to get to their placements, exposing them to Covid-19.

Malaysia has one of the best strategies to isolate and treat Covid-19 patients. In contrast, the National Health Service in Britain has a lacklustre response. For example, suspected or positive patients are just told to isolate at home and self-medicate. Would Malaysian students have to go through such a procedure?

Caring parents are having sleepless nights thinking of all these questions. We hope the Malaysian government will consider these concerns. We just cannot put the students at risk.

CONCERNED AND HOPEFUL PARENT

Penang