KUALA LUMPUR: The government will allow students of higher learning institutions under the Higher Education Ministry to return to campus in stages from March 1, Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said.
However, the allowed numbers would range from 70 per cent to 100 per cent, depending on the institutions' capacities, he said.
He said the decision was made at the Covid-19 quartet ministerial meeting on Tuesday, which refined proposals from the Higher Education Ministry on the admission of students to public universities, polytechnics, community colleges and private higher learning institutions.
"Based on the Higher Education Ministry and the Health Ministry's standard operating procedures (SOP), students and staff with complete and incomplete vaccination status were allowed to be on campus.
"However, those with incomplete vaccination status are required to obtain negative results of RT-PCR tests three days prior to returning to campus. They also need to take the RTK-Ag test once a week," he said in a statement today.
As for existing and new international students, Hishammuddin said only those who had completed their vaccinations would be allowed to enter Malaysia, and they must undergo mandatory quarantine for seven or five days if they had already received their booster dose.
He said the learning institutions must have the required space to accommodate physical classes with strict adherence to the SOP for teaching and learning sessions, adding that they were allowed to conduct the sessions in a hybrid manner or online.
Hishammuddin said all sports and recreational activities also must comply with the SOP issued by the Health Ministry.
The public can contact the Higher Education Ministry's Covid-19 operations room at 03-8870 6777/6949/6623/6628, visit the respective higher learning institutions' websites or directly contact the coordinating officers of the particular learning institutions for further inquiries. – BERNAMA