| Universiti Putra Malaysia

Family commitment is no barrier for civil servant to attaining Master’s degree

By: Dr. Cheng Kai Wah dan Nazrul Rapail


SERDANG, Jan 10 – Sebrina Shahniza Saiin, 36, from the School of Graduate Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), has proved that family commitment is not a barrier for a civil servant to complete her Master of Science within the standard duration (Graduate-on-Time – GOT), which is over four semesters.

The wife and mother of two had received a Master of Science in Agronomy at the 44th Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Convocation Ceremony here, with a CGPA of 4.00.

Sebrina, who graduated with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science in 2017, completed her studies through distance learning (PJJ).

“To be honest, I nearly gave up on research on several occasions, but I am very grateful for the moral support received from my family members. That’s the reason for this joy,” said the mother of two.

She acknowledged that there were many challenges faced. She had to divide time and priorities as a mother as well as a student.

“Every Monday to Friday, I work full time. On Saturdays and Sundays, I have classes all day. Time with family and children also needs to be taken into account,” she said.

According to her, the key to success for a postgraduate student is time management skills and resilience.

“I was a full-time postgraduate student at UPM and at the same time a civil servant who has to work from Mondays to Fridays, and I was only able to do fieldwork on weekends,” she said.

“I felt reluctant to leave my two-year-old and four-year-old at that time to go to the field to collect research data when I knew that they desperately needed my attention growing up,” she said.

She also had to find her own alternatives to fund the tuition fees and experimental expenses as she could not secure scholarships and research grants throughout her studies.

“I am very grateful to have a very helpful supervisor who had always shared lecture notes and helped me in my research,” she said. She is also intended to continue her studies at the Doctor of Philosophy level at UPM within a year. – UPM

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