Students at the Negeri Sembilan matriculation college in Kuala Pilah are sitting for the oral Malaysian University English Test (Muet) today, amid a cluster of Covid-19 cases announced there yesterday.
However, those who are symptomatic are not allowed to attend the examination until they have received clearance from the college's medical officer, the college said in a notice to students yesterday, sighted by Malaysiakini.
Students also have to fill a health declaration form to state if they have been overseas in the past two weeks, been in contact with Covid-19 patients, been in quarantine before and the dates of quarantine, have undergone a swab test, the result of the test and the date it was taken.
Those with a temperature of above 37.5°C are not allowed to sit for the examination as well.
The 30-minute oral examination is done in groups of four, where students must display their ability to communicate in English through conversation.
Each group will enter a holding room 15 minutes before their turn.
The speaking and listening portion of the examination makes up 30 percent of the grade while the written test will take place at the college on Feb 6.
Students need to obtain a certain band of proficiency in Muet to apply to universities in Malaysia and Singapore.
Some 200 students in quarantine
Negeri Sembilan Matriculation College students have been under movement restrictions since Jan 16, when the first case, involving a student who travelled from Johor, was detected.
They are not allowed to leave their dorms, except to purchase food from the cafeteria, while classes are conducted online.
It is learnt that about 200 students are in quarantine.
Visitors were also not allowed, the college said in a notice issued to students and parents sighted by Malaysiakini.
Yesterday, the Health Ministry announced a cluster there with 25 cases.
The ministry did not explicitly name the college but said it is a public education institution located "between Taman Bukit Intan and Taman Bahagia Delima".
Malaysiakini has independently verified that this cluster, named Intan Delima, is the Negeri Sembilan Matriculation College.
Former education minister Maszlee Malik yesterday took to social media to urge the ministry to come clean on the matter, after receiving complaints from students and parents.
Although the cluster also involves students, it was categorised as a workplace cluster.
The index case is a 19-year-old student who was tested after developing symptoms.
Two of the student's close contacts at the college tested positive on Jan 17, prompting further testing.
From Jan 21 to 26, 22 other "social contacts" at the college tested positive for Covid-19.
Outcry over campus reopening
On Jan 17, the Pahang Matriculation College also reported Covid-19 cases among students.
The college in Bukit Gambang was closed until Jan 23.
The decision to resume face-to-face learning at the Education Ministry-run matriculation college this month sparked public outcry, amid a rise in Covid-19 cases.
Students who returned to campus starting Jan 4 did not need to undergo Covid-19 screening.
An online petition against the reopening of matriculation colleges garnered more than 11,600 signatures.
The Education Ministry's Matriculation Department said the decision was to allow students to sit for examinations scheduled for Jan 6-13.
The examinations must be done in person, and the grades are used in university applications.
The ministry told The Star that online examinations were considered, but this would be unfair to those in rural areas with poor Internet connectivity. - Mkini
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