KUANTAN: Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) has postponed all campus operations, including e-learning teaching and learning sessions, till April 14 following the extension of the Movement Control Order (MCO).
UMP's deputy vice-chancellor (Academic and International) Professor Dr Mohd Rosli Hainin said the decision was made considering a majority of their undergraduates were now with their respective families at their hometowns.
"The decision is also to ensure the safety and welfare of our students. UMP's move is in accordance with the Higher Education Ministry's proposal that public universities and private institutions of higher learning in the country revise their academic programmes in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.
"The MCO, introduced to curb the Covid-19 pandemic, will certainly affect the academic calendar at all higher learning institutions, including UMP," he said in a statement today.
Rosli said UMP will be making amendments to the second semester academic calendar (Session 2019/2020) which will be presented at the university's senate meeting tomorrow (April 1).
Meanwhile, Rosli said as part of efforts to activate virtual classes (e-learning) at both the Gambang and Pekan campuses if required, UMP's Centre of Instructional Resources & e-Learning (CIReL) had organised a series of online training sessions for its academic staff.
He said the training includes various platforms, applications and online teaching-and-learning methods which match the programmes offered at UMP.
"Each faculty has prepared material for online sessions and adopted strategies to provide students with the required lessons. We have tested KALAM, UMP's Knowledge & Learning Management System to implement the online e-Learning methods since early February to ensure virtual classes could be conducted smoothly.
"A recent survey to gather feedback from our students towards online learning revealed that some 80 per cent were comfortable with virtual class while the remaining 20 per cent were not well-prepared as they were living at areas with poor internet connection. Lecturers will be given the option to decide how they plan to execute the e-learning sessions if required," he said.