‘We might look calm but we are struggling’: M’sian university students highlight excessive workload in letter to lecturers

Malaysian university students lament heavy workload in letter to lecturers

The burden of studies, exams, and assignments can often take its toll on students — especially for those in institutes of higher education.

This was the case in Malaysia, where students at a university penned an open letter to their lecturers, stating that they had too much on their schedule.

A picture of the letter, posted to X, has since gone viral.

Malaysian university students address lecturers in letter

Addressing the lecturers directly, the students who wrote the letter start it off by saying, “Don’t you understand that we are stressed?”

“We might look calm in front of you but we are struggling.”

They added that a bad day at the institution could push one of them to take their own life, before asking the lecturers if they wanted to live with that kind of guilt.

The students then stated that they were speaking up due to the concerns their peers had. This was in light of the sheer number of assignments, tests, and presentations they had to contend with.

“We are not robots,” the students said. “Six subjects but 10 coursework assignments? Do you think that’s fair?”

Timing of midterms forced them to study during festivities

The students added that another issue with their schedule was that the timing of their midterms forced them to study during the festive period.

“You think only you need time with your family?” they asked.

In addition, they pointed out that lecturers at the university often taught them like “high school boys.”

“We need to be taught to face the working world, not taught just to answer exams,” they said, noting that they would receive a huge amount of coursework when they needed to revise their studies.

Netizens say students should communicate concerns to lecturers directly

With the tweet having gone viral on X, there was a wide range of reactions to the students’ letter.

One user labelled it as “weak”, noting that during their time in higher education, they had to participate in extra-curricular activities.

They would even find the time to partake in leisure activities such as going to the mall, managing their time well enough to meet deadlines for their assignments.

Another netizen noted that while the students’ concerns were valid, they could have been worded more professionally.

She suggested that they should instead speak to their lecturers directly to communicate their worries.

Also read: ‘It affected my mental health’: Woman quits full-time marketing job in S’pore after 2 months

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Featured image adapted from Sincerely Media on Unsplash and @Rusydi_RL on X.