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paying almost $10,000 for only two months of education in NP

Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 7:15 pm
by greenpeas
Hi. I am a student who scored very badly for my A levels ( H1-B, the rest all Ds) Though I did submit my applications to the universities, I knew that I would probably not be able to get into any of them, so I appealed to NP at the same time, since school was already starting for poly. Right after I received the notification that I have successfully appealed into NP, I was called to collect my enrollment package in school. So I arrived in the admissions office and was given a stack of forms. The lady told me to fill in the form as fast as I can because it was already almost the last day for registration. Before paying the school fees, the lady at the admissions counter told me to sign the Tuition Grant agreement form, or else I would have to pay 10,000 for the semester, so I did. Then I saw in the enrollment booklet that there was some signing session needed for the Tuition Grant application to be complete. So I ask her whether I had to go for the signing, she said no.

Thus, I got enrolled into NP just one week before the term started, thinking that even if I got accepted into a uni, I would only be paying 2,000, since I have already signed for the Tuition Grant Agreement.

Later on, I suddenly received a call from a lady from MOE saying that I must go to TGonline to fill in my surities details immediately or my Tuition Grant will be rejected. She was very angry and told me not to waste her time because she is very tired and wants to go home. I rushed home and did according to her instructions, after that I ask if that was all that I had to do for Tuition Grant, and she said yes.

On the second Tuesday of The school term in NP, I received my acceptance letter from NTU. So I quickly contacted NP and asked whether I could still withdraw and get some refunds for the 2,000 I paid. They told me that they would only refund for withdrawals in the first week. So I thought since I am going to withdraw, instead of just giving the 2,000 and leave right away, why not make use of the money I have spent and learn more in school and withdraw at a later date.

Therefore, I stayed in school for another five weeks, and withdrew on the 5th of June. Before I withdrew, I made sure to tell all my teachers and met up with the teacher in-charge for Tuition Grant. I asked the teacher whether I would be paying the unsubsidized school fees when I withdraw, She said that she must email the finance department to know what will happen to me. I also asked her about the transferring of Tuition Grant from NP to Uni, and she said she was unsure, but I would not have to pay for the rest of the school fees since I already applied for Tuition Grant. She told me to officially withdraw from the school first, then email for her to enquire about it to the finance department. I even left my contact number and name in case she has anything to inform me.

So, very sure that I will not be paying anymore money when I withdraw, I submitted my withdrawal forms.
As the withdrawing process was said to take a few days, I called the school a few days later to make sure I have officially withdrawn from NP. When I was told that I had officially withdrawn, I emailed the Tuition Grant teacher happily, thinking that she would help arrange the transfer of of the tuition grant.

The reply I got was shocking. The school's finance department told me that I was to pay another $7,813.60 because I did not apply for Tuition Grant. Puzzled, I emailed the teacher I met for tuition grant again. And what she replied was even more shocking. She said that I did not go for the signing session under the witness of MOE personal, thus my Tuition Grant application was incomplete, and thus I have to pay the full unsubsidized fees of over $10,000.

After that, I called her personally and told her that I was not aware that I had to go for the signing session. She said that she had emailed everyone through their contact email (an email given to each student upon enrollment) Moreover, she said that she had told me to go for the signing session when I went to see her at her office before I withdrew. That I definitely do not remember.

She told me that since I have already withdrawn from NP without signing the required forms for Tuition Grant, I would have to pay for everything.

But the thing is,
1. I only studied for less than half a semester but have to pay for the whole semester's UNSUBSIDIZED school fees of $10,000
2. I had given the school all my contact details during enrollment, but was only reminded of the signing sessions through the contact email which was usually almost empty except for overseas trip forms and event emails.
3. Even when I did withdraw, I was not told that I would be paying an extra $7,813.60 for that withdrawal.

I know it has been partly my responsibility for not checking that email and reading all the information on Tuition Grant from the MOE website, but was it not part of the school's responsibility to properly remind me about the dates and required procedures? Am I wrong to say that if I did not withdraw and completed my semester, I would only know about the missing procedure at the end of my 3 years in NP and would have paid a total of $30,000 when the others only paid $10,000?

Re: paying almost $10,000 for only two months of education i

Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:04 pm
by SAHM_TAN
Have you tried appealing ?

At the very least try to get pro-rated fees?

Maybe they have some sort of procedure to fall back on if you are not the only student who has issue with completing the procedure for the tuition grant.

Re: paying almost $10,000 for only two months of education i

Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 12:21 pm
by greenpeas
@SAHM_TAN
Thank you for your suggestion.
I have just sent an appeal letter to the admissions office of NP, they said that they will have to take some time to consider my appeal, and that the results differ according to each case. I really hope that the fees will be deducted.

Re: paying almost $10,000 for only two months of education i

Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 12:33 pm
by SAHM_TAN
Since they didn't outright reject your appeal means there's hope. :smile:

Re: paying almost $10,000 for only two months of education i

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 1:21 pm
by Chlorella Poh
If the appeal fails, lodge a complaint to your grassroots leader/ Resident's committee and ask them for help. Get them to write a letter to NP.

This is an admin problem. You can also try the student counsellor for help.

Re: paying almost $10,000 for only two months of education i

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 2:35 pm
by tankee
If appeal fails, forget about RC, goes straight to MP.

Best if your MP is a minister.

Good luck !

Re: paying almost $10,000 for only two months of education i

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 9:59 pm
by greenpeas
Thank you so much. I posted a complaint to MOE, then they forwarded the complaint to NP. After that we arranged for a meeting with the finance manager of NP, my parents and I were very firm on our side, but they kept highlighting that it was our fault for ASSUMING that the TG application was done just by signing. They also kept repeating that they already sent me emails for reminder so they ASSUMED that by not attending the signing sessions, we are intending to not sign up for TG. We also mentioned the fact that they did not tell us that we were to pay 7 thousand by withdrawing before I officially withdrew. Then they said the system is like that, they will only tell us how much we have to pay(library fines and loan fees) after we have withdrawn. Sigh~ they said they will help us try to change or improve the situation as they also sympathize with us, they know that 7000 is not a small sum and it has been a shock for us. Sigh~ really hope they'll bring good news. Haven't received any news from then after that meeting yet.

Re: paying almost $10,000 for only two months of education i

Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 8:48 pm
by humcpp
Whoa, what an experience! Had to create an acct to comment haha.

Hard to point fingers..but it looks like huge misunderstanding with expensive consequence. The admin probably knew what he/she was talking about but didn't realise you didn't get the full picture. Guess your experience serve as a reminder for me to read all mail, know what your signing and if that's the real thing haha!

Gd luck with your appeal! Jus make sure you sign the TG for real next time..

Re: paying almost $10,000 for only two months of education i

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 6:16 pm
by greenpeas
Update update! The school gave us a discount from the 7000. saying that they understand our situation and sympathies with us. Phew~ Now that the initial shock is completely dissolved, I realized that it is really very much our fault as one of the comments mentioned. Really hope that this will end smoothly!

Re: paying almost $10,000 for only two months of education i

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 6:41 pm
by jtoh
That's good news. Must be such a relief for you.