The COVID-19 outbreak has been spreading around the world for almost two years. The spread of this epidemic has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare COVID-19 as a pandemic as it has affected various sectors especially the economic, social, educational and borderless health sectors. This situation also affects zakat institutions and centers when the poverty rate among students and those affected by health problems increases. At the same time, the number of those who still drop out of receiving zakat assistance remains the same. Apart from that, the inefficient data recording of the asnaf group is also one of the problems faced in the distribution of aid. This requires institutions and zakat centers to formulate new strategies in the face of this pandemic. Thus, this study examines the strategy of the Zakat Sedekah and Wakaf Unit of UiTM Kelantan Branch (UZSW) in the management of zakat to face the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses a qualitative method. Data was collected from secondary data, namely the annual report to obtain data related to UZSW from 2020 to 2021. Primary data was also used through interviews to obtain accurate information on the distribution of zakat asnaf students. Observation methods are also used to understand the work of UZSW in ensuring the distribution of zakat is implemented effectively. As a result, several themes were defined from the data before being analyzed based on content analysis method.

Di Malaysia, institusi pondok sudah sinonim dengan pengajian kitab-kitab turath. Institusi ini bukan sahaja menjadi kesinambungan sistem halaqah yang dijalankan di awal-awal Islam, bahkan ia menekankan aspek kerohanian, akhlak serta pendidikan sepanjang hayat. Institusi pondok sudah tidak asing lagi dalam kalangan masyarakat Kelantan kerana institusi ini telah bertapak di Kelantan dari awal penyebaran Islam di Tanah Melayu. Kelantan juga antara negeri yang terawal dalam mempelopori pengajian Islam melalui institusi pondok. Namun,kerana factor perkembangan pendidikan semasa dan juga ketiadaan pengganti untuk meneruskan legasi institusi ini, maka sesetengah pondok tidak mampu bertahan lama dan terpaksa ditutup. Hal ini lebih ketara ketika berlakunya penjajahan ke atas Tanah Melayu dan berlanjutan sehingga selepas kemerdekaan. Situasi tersebut memberi kesan dalam banyak aspek terutama dalam pengajian turath yang menjadi tunjang kepada institusi pondok. Dengan kesedaran daripada pelbagai pihak, pengajian turath mula dimartabatkan dan institusi pondok terus dibangunkan dengan fasiliti yang selaras dengan perkembangan semasa. Usaha ini membuka kembali mata masyarakat untuk menerima konsep pengajian turath serta menerima keberadaan institusi pondok dalam kelompok institusi pengajian di Malaysia.