Universiti Malaysia Kelantan

I am currently studying for my MA under Universiti Utara Malaysia but the class is held at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan every weekend. The thing is, our status as off-campus students require us to pay twice the fee that on-campus students paid. Regardless, the condition of the location provided for our class is pathetic to say the least. We paid RM900 per subjects and each semester we're required to take 2 subjects and there are 3 semesters per year. What I want to talk about is not the fee or the same-old same-old method of teaching (PowerPoint and group presentation and literature/critical review) but the accommodation and service provided by UMK.

We are given a small Bilik Kuliah in which we've to squeeze 30 people (including the lecturer). Sometimes the chairs are enough and a lot of times we've to scavenge other classroom to look for chairs. Even the lecturer's table is in a dilapidated condition. The whiteboard has to be put on the table as the handle holding it together is broken. There's no marker or whiteboard eraser; we've to use tissue every time. The air-cond is not working, we've to pry open the whole unit to open the ventilation manually or we will be in a sauna for the whole day class. To put it simply, like one of my lecturers said, "And they call this (UMK) a university?"

The guards are more than "friendly". Even though they know we will be having classes every weekend, still we've to beg them to open the locked door to our designated classroom. And they open the locked door with "open hearts". No smile and no chit-chat. Even the toilet here is so exclusive, they lock the ladies so we've to use the gents. Of course, the WiFi is password protected. So, you can browse for academic journals or look for materials needed for assignments or presentation. And God forbid if we forgot to wear our matrix card, they'll scold us like a bunch of two year olds. The security guards at my teachers' training institute are way friendlier compared to them. Yeah, we know you've the power since you're in uniform and everything, but we're the customers and we're not like first degree freshies. We're all adults and it's time to act like one.

Overall, I'd give them negative one star if we would ever have to fill up customers' satisfaction form. I pity these students who have to endure three or four or more years to study in UMK because honestly, this Uni sucks!