Don’t scrap off-campus courses, ex-students tell USM

 

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) introduced its distance learning programme some 50 years ago.

PETALING JAYA: Former students have launched a petition to protest the scrapping of off-campus courses offered by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in Penang.

The petition calling for the School of Distance Education at USM to be maintained has gained 2,771 signatures out of the targeted 5,000.

Apart from the petition, alumni from the School of Distance Education are popularising the hashtag #prayforpjjusm as a protest against the proposal.

According to the organisers of the campaign, USM’s management reached their decision as the school was not generating profits.

“We need to object to this proposal because the School of Distance Education is 50 years old.

“It also helps underprivileged students to further their studies to a higher level,” said the group, according to Harakahdaily.

However, according to a statement on social media, the USM management said it only intended to restructure the School of Distance Education and revamp the syllabuses.

It said the graduation rate was now at 20%, with the failure rate of some programmes reaching up to 50%.

Dr Che Hamdan Mohd Razali, who had taken a distance learning course from USM previously, said profit should not be used as an excuse by the university to discontinue the service as it was instrumental in allowing those holding jobs to pursue their further education.

A netizen, known as Zya Ell Rosse, hoped the distance learning programme would continue uninterrupted as it was one of the best in the country. - FMT