Minister ticks off UM for barring unvaccinated student from exam
Higher Education Minister Noraini Ahmad took Universiti Malaya to task for barring an unvaccinated student from taking her examination.
She pointed out that varsities do not have the authority to impose their own Covid-19 policies which are not in line with that of the National Security Council (NSC).
“While the ministry fully supports efforts to encourage students to register for vaccines, universities are not allowed to formulate their own regulations and standard operating procedures (SOP) related to Covid-19 separately from the NSC's...
Higher Education Minister Noraini Ahmad took Universiti Malaya to task for barring an unvaccinated student from taking her examination.
She pointed out that varsities do not have the authority to impose their own Covid-19 policies which are not in line with that of the National Security Council (NSC).
“While the ministry fully supports efforts to encourage students to register for vaccines, universities are not allowed to formulate their own regulations and standard operating procedures (SOP) related to Covid-19 separately from the NSC's decision,” she was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.
She said the NSC does not set different regulations for unvaccinated people.
Noraini added that universities must protect the welfare of students to ensure they are not left out during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She was responding to an incident where a 22-year-old medical student lodged a police report after her university barred her from taking her clinical exam.
The medical student’s father, Mohd Razif, claimed UM failed to inform his daughter, Nik Farah Ellisha, that she would be barred for not being vaccinated against Covid-19.
Farah had opted not to get vaccinated.
The examination from which she was allegedly barred from taking is a clinical exam that requires medical students to interact with real-life patients.
Meanwhile, former education minister Maszlee Malik spoke out against Noraini's rebuke of the university.
"Please respect the decision made by UM due to its autonomy when it comes to issues related to the health and well-being of their students.
"If you disagree with their decisions, let them handle it legally.
"She (Noraini) should respect the university's autonomy and not rebuke its decisions!" he tweeted.
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