PUTRA HEIGHTS FIRE: 85 IPT STUDENTS AFFECTED, NEARLY HALF CONTINUE WITH ONLINE CLASSES

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 (Bernama) -- About 85 students from public and private institutions of higher learning (IPTs) were identified as affected in the gas pipeline fire incident in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, Selangor on the second day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

Higher Education director-general Datuk Prof Dr Azlinda Azman said the majority of the students returned to their respective universities and campuses, with 34 of them attending online classes.

She said her team is currently coordinating with the Digital Ministry to provide affected students with laptops, which is expected to be completed by the end of April.

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“There are some who want to study online but their laptops are not in good condition. So there are universities that lend laptops to students,” she told Bernama after the launching ceremony of Ops Mega Pembersihan at Arena MBSJ today.

The gas pipeline fire incident, which occurred at 8.10 am on April 1, saw flames reaching heights of 30 metres with temperatures soaring to 1,000 degrees Celsius, and the blaze took nearly eight hours to be completely extinguished.

Meanwhile, Azlinda said universities are also continuously reviewing and providing psychosocial support services to the affected students, considering that some of them are experiencing trauma following the fire incident.

“Vice-chancellors and deputy vice-chancellors are directly aware of the situation and development of these affected students, and universities are continuously monitoring the students' progress," she added.

-- BERNAMA