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KUALA LUMPUR – The Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) lecturer who was caught on video berating a B40 student for not having a laptop has been relieved from duty effective today pending an investigation.
This comes after a meeting among the university’s board of directors yesterday.
In a statement today, UiTM also named the lecturer, identifying her as Prof Roshana Takim.
It added that the decision is to allow the investigation to be carried out effectively and in an orderly manner.
The university also said that it takes seriously any party which disseminates confidential information that can affect the image and reputation of the institution, as well as threaten public safety.
“The university will not hesitate to take action and file a report with the authorities for sharing confusing postings (on social media).”
According to a leaked report, the lecturer’s contract was renewed on March 15.
On Wednesday, UiTM vice-chancellor Datuk Roziah Mohd Janor said the university had investigated the matter, and that they always place a premium on the welfare and needs of its students.
She added that the university provides various funds offering financial support for students, and urged those facing problems to contact university and faculty staff for advice and assistance.
In a separate video posted on UiTM’s official TikTok account, Roziah said the viral video was a recording of a class from the previous semester and not a recent incident.
The professor involved was a contract lecturer and not a full-time staff member and that the incident had taken place in UiTM Seri Iskandar, Perak, she added.
In the leaked video, which had gone viral, a professor is heard berating a student for attending her online class using his phone, saying the student should already own a computer as he was already in his fifth semester.
The lecturer went on to suggest that the student – who had earlier explained that his mother had died and father was unemployed – ask his sister to sell off her gold bracelet to purchase a computer.
“The price of a computer is only RM800. What’s your problem? That’s why I can’t sit with B40 people. These people only think more about other things than education,” the lecturer said in the video, referring to people in the lowest wage category.
The video that was posted on Twitter has since been deleted. – The Vibes, April 1, 2022
