KUALA LUMPUR: The death of two Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) students due to brain hemorrhage last July was among issues that had sparked public outcry in the country's higher education sector this year, raising concern over mental health issues among students in college campuses.

News of the sudden death of Nur Natasha Ezreen Azemi, 22, and Muhammad Adham Hazim Mohd Rizaini, 21, believed to have been due to stress, left the community on edge and triggered an outrage resulting in demands that the welfare and psychological safety of students must not be taken lightly by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) during the pandemic.

Following the incidents, MOHE has taken several proactive measures, among them conducting a study on the effectiveness of online teaching and learning (PdP) at higher learning institutions (IPT) and making improvements to the learning process.

The ministry, in collaboration with the Counseling and Career Council of Malaysian Public Universities (MAKUMA), is also in the process of developing a Mental Health module for IPT students to deal with stress, depression and anxiety.

MOHE has also mobilised a total of 150 counselors and psychologists in all public universities in the country to monitor the mental health of students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the closure or non-full-scale operation of certain economic sectors due to the spread of COVID-19 also had an impact on the higher education sector as this has raised graduates' unemployment rate.

Based on the 2020 Graduates Statistics released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia on July 27, the number of unemployed graduates increased to 202,400 in 2020 from 165,200 the previous year.

The situation was a cause of worry for those who have just graduated as they not only have to face stiff competition in the job market but would not be able to repay their National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan.

To resolve this issue, the government introduced several intervention programmmes such as the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) KPT-Career Advancement Programme or PENJANA KPT-CAP and PENJANA KPT-PACE (Professional Certification) programme which offer graduates and final year students to pursue skills enhancement programmes as well as to fulfill industry demands.

To further ease the burden of students the government through the 2022 Budget agreed to offer discounts for the repayment of PTPTN loans effective Nov 1 2021 to April 30 2022.

Meanwhile, claims that 10 per cent of the 435 private universities (IPTS) would probably have to close down by the end of the year or early 2022 if they do not receive government assistance after severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, had also attracted public attention.

In consideration of this, MOHE had last October submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Finance to provide tax relief to IPTS affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, while the national task force for facilitating IPTS as an industry (PEMUDAH IPTS) will sit together with operators of private higher education institutions to identify issues and challenges and offer the best solutions.

-- BERNAMA