A Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) lecturer said racial polarisation on campus was a serious issue despite a survey claiming otherwise.

The ongoing study by USM's Institute of National Higher Education Research said ethnic polarisation could be "more of a manifestation of a coping mechanism involved to facilitate settling into new life experiences".

According to the survey, students form ethnic cliques in studying, socialising and eating out but these decisions merely form a transient social statement.