KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — The Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) has confirmed that it is closely monitoring the situation involving 54 Malaysian students at Harvard University following legal developments in the United States.

In a statement today, KPT said that 16 of these Malaysian students are government-sponsored, while 38 are self-funded.

"KPT is closely monitoring this development through the Education Malaysia office in Washington, DC (EMWDC),” it said in a statement.

"KPT and EMWDC have also been in contact with the relevant sponsors and the US education authorities,” it added.

On May 22, the US government, through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), revoked Harvard’s certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP).

The move prevented Harvard from enrolling new international students and placed pressure on current students to transfer to other institutions to maintain their visa status.

However, on June 4 the US Federal Court upheld a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) filed by Harvard, allowing more than 6,800 international students — including Malaysians — to continue their studies at the university without changes to their visa status for the time being.