Learning Difficulties and Opportunities for Student and Academics of Malaysian Institutions of Higher Learning (MIHL) in the Covid-19 Pandemic Outbreak

In this Covid-19 pandemic crisis education for students at all levels in Malaysia were instructed to shut down. There were many issues arising from this development, which caused difficulties in maintaining the standards of teaching and learning by both lecturers or teachers and the students and their parents. Difficulties and problems faced by students include poor or lack of internet connection facility, unreliable computer and mobile devices, challenges in learning without face to face contacts, unhealthy hours spent in front of computer or mobile screens, lack of concentration and built up of stresses and uncertainties in their academic performance. These are all common issues that all students of higher learning had faced during this challenging time. Meanwhile, there are opportunities for students and lecturers, in the form of having flexibility of learning at their own pace in their home environment, not having to travel on the road allows more time to plan or work on other areas of interest, ability to expand on knowledge of online connection and even going into online business transactions, able to connect regularly with friends and relatives in faraway places – in other words, this pandemic crisis seems to be preparing us all for the future where technologies such as 5G connectivity and Industrial Revolution 4.0 will prevail in the world economy and daily activities.