How ‘Rumah Siswa’ is helping students find the perfect place to stay

 

Since its launch in March, 1,406 landlords and 3,138 students have signed up with the ‘Rumah Siswa’ portal.

PETALING JAYA: The higher education ministry hopes its “Rumah Siswa” portal – which connects prospective tenants and landlords – will help ensure the safety of off-campus students by enabling them to verify details about rooms and houses available for rent.

The higher education ministry’s Holistic Student Department director Dr Mohd Suzeren Md Jamil said apart from listing available rooms or units to rent near a college or university, the portal’s database also contained information on facilities around the vicinity.

“Students will be able to obtain accurate details on the monthly rent, house capacity and about the prospective landlords,” he said in an interview.

The portal, he said, was monitored by both the ministry and its higher education institution partners.

Suzeren said the renting of rooms or houses had been a long-standing problem for off-campus students, based on complaints the department received from students and teachers.

These include the difficulty in finding a unit and high rentals, which are among the circumstances that force students to put up in small units.

That is why, he said, landlords taking part in this initiative were required to provide a comfortable unit or room in a conducive environment at suitable rates.

Since its launch in March, 1,406 landlords and 3,138 students had signed up with the portal, Suzeren said.

“I hope off-campus students will continue to benefit from this portal and will be able to find homes in a conducive environment easily.”

Suzeren went on to say that there was a need to prioritise the well-being of off-campus students and for it to be monitored by the respective universities.

Apart from the “Rumah Siswa” portal, she said two other initiatives were in the pipeline to tend to the well-being of off-campus students, namely the setting up of a management unit and guidelines to manage the students.

The management unit, he explained, would serve as counsellor, adviser and administrator on housing matters as well as monitor the activities and programmes carried out by off-campus students from time to time. - FMT