Instead, it’s about matching university students with coffee or its derivatives: latte, mocha, cappuccino and the list goes on.

The Higher Education Ministry is mulling the idea of encouraging global franchise restaurants such as Starbucks and Coffee Bean to establish a presence in the campus confines of public universities.

Its Deputy Minister Datuk Idris Haron said these chain outlets, known to offer free wireless broadband services to patrons besides food and beverages, would help students relax while working on their assignments. With online facilities, students also can keep abreast of current events worldwide, he added.

Well, if this plan works out, I believe that it will be a first for our public universities as far as having such chain restaurants on campus grounds is concerned.

The intention to create a congenial study environment complete with Internet broadband is noble. Perhaps it is also a move to lure students from wired coffeeshops off-campus. In developed economies such as the United States, this kind of arrangement has already taken place in a number of universities.

Nevertheless, in the Malaysian context, there are concerns whether it is necessary to expose the campus community to such “affluent” lifestyle normally associated with city dwellers, just for the sake of free Internet access. After all, most public universities already have some form of Internet infrastructure in place, so getting connected is not really a pressing issue.

And while Internet access is free at these outlets, students still have to pay for coffee and other food items, which don’t come cheap and could burn a big hole in the pockets of students, many of whom are living on modest allowances.

Besides, in the US there are groups who feel that such a move represents commercialisation of academic space, and question whether the likes of Starbucks belong inside the icon of academia.