THE Indian community are calling for early Deepavali leave to be granted to students in higher education institutions to avoid a last-minute rush to return home, reported Makkal Osai.
With Deepavali falling on a Thursday and no announcements thus far from the Higher Education Ministry regarding any additional leave, students are left to plan their travel at the last minute.
Students also complained that some universities and colleges are expecting them to attend classes until Tuesday, forcing many to take personal leave on Friday, which may be frowned upon by their institutions.
As a result, many Indian students have yet to book their tickets to go home, the daily found.
Students from Indian families in Johor studying in Kedah or Perlis may face journeys exceeding eight hours on Deepavali eve just to make it home.
Those from areas with limited transport options may even have to change buses in larger cities.
Consequently, numerous Indian families and students are urging the ministry to announce additional leave as soon as possible.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a, it denotes a separate news item.
