PETALING JAYA: Despite Covid-19 being endemic now, some universities in the country continue to conduct online classes, much to the annoyance of students who are demanding to know why tuition fees have not been reduced in tandem with the lower cost of providing online lectures.
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) Social Communication student Ker Li Shi said 30% of her course subjects are currently being conducted online.
“Face-to-face classes can already be resumed, so I don’t understand why my university is insisting on conducting online classes.
“Furthermore, the fees have not been lowered when it is cheaper to conduct online classes than attending in person lectures, especially when the university saves on electricity bills, handout materials and other costs,” she said.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Biomedical Science PhD student Raveena Vaidheswary Muralitharan said 20% of her course subjects were being conducted online.
She said many students believe the high cost of online education is not justified and are curious about where their tuition fees are going.
“It just does not make sense that students need to pay the same or even more in certain instances to continue with their education, when the medium of learning has changed.
“Universities are turning a blind eye to this matter and maintaining the online medium as that is what works for them. They save money too,” she said.
UPSI Social Communication lecturer Dr Khairul Azam Bahari said online classes were still relevant post-pandemic due to mobility factors, where teaching can be conducted anywhere.
“Lecturers, students and education providers have to adapt to online learning. This is because another pandemic may occur in the future and we have to be ready to provide them with continuous education.”
While Ker agreed that online classes were necessary during the Covid-19 period, she feels it is not suitable for all university courses.
“By having 30% to 40% of classes conducted online, universities cannot justify charging the same fees for face-to-face and online classes,” she said.
Universiti Putra Malaysia Assoc Prof Dr Siva K. Balasundram said it was challenging to conduct online classes for courses that require practical or hands-on sessions, as it takes a lot of work, time and effort to convert such courses to be fully online, adding that the additional work involved justifies charging the same fees.
University Tunku Abdul Rahman Environmental Engineering student Lye Chu Hong said students would not complain if the standard of online education was similar to that gained by attending physical classes.
“However, many of us feel that we get more value for money by attending physical classes rather than online lessons. How can we be charged the same fees when we are being shortchanged?”
