SHAH ALAM: The COVID-19 vaccination rate for students of higher learning institutions has reached 73 per cent while that for staff has hit 91 per cent as at Sept 22, according to Deputy Minister of Higher Education Datuk Dr Ahmad Masrizal Muhammad.

He said these vaccination rates were considered high and showed the universities' readiness to receive students back for face-to-face classes.

"Every university has its own profile and standard operating procedure but they have a common understanding that this matter (fighting COVID-19) is serious and important to students," he told reporters after visiting Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) here today.

The visit to UiTM was his third after similar visits to Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia to check on preparations being made for the intake of students for the 2021/2022 academic session starting October.

Ahmad Masrizal expressed confidence that it is safe for parents to send their children back to campus as every university had adopted good measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

-- BERNAMA