Students hope varsities will postpone exams

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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian students at Egyptian universities are confident the institutions will postpone examinations scheduled for the very near future, as the current situation does not allow them to return to the conflict-stricken Egypt.

Egypt’s Malaysian Medical Students Association of Mansourah University academic committee member Muhammad Azrul Azizi said he had sent an email to the university, asking for extension of leave
and explaining the reasons for them not being able to return for the examinations.

However, he said, the appeal was left unattended.

“Students who are still there have also advised us not to rush back and just ignore the university’s intolerant attitude since we are still waiting for the government’s final decision on when we should return.”

“Usually, the university will not carry out the examinations if most students are unable to be present … so, we are confident that they will postpone the examinations for this semester until all students return to the university,” he told Bernama when contacted here yesterday.

He was commenting on the dilemma of Malaysian students in being unable to return to Egypt soon to sit for the university examinations.

The higher education ministry yesterday sent several of its officers to Egypt to discuss with the Egyptian universities on issues concerning Malaysian students who were affected by the country’s recent political conflict.

Currently, there are 200 Malaysian medical students who have yet to return home from Egypt due to several reasons, including undergoing practical training.

One of them, Muhammar Amin, when contacted, said the security aspect in Egypt was still not stable.

He said, although street demonstrations had ended and most banks and retail outlets operating as usual, the number of policemen safeguarding the city was still insufficient.

“The police have yet to fully discharge their duties and there is no 100 per cent guarantee that Malaysian students will be safe if they return in the very near future,” he said.

Right now, he said, the remaining students there were taking their own initiatives to ensure safety like by contacting each other frequently, as well as informing the Malaysian Embassy of their whereabouts. — Bernama