Source: MOE / Gilbert Goh

On Thursday (28 November), activist and founder of Transitioning.org (a support site for the unemployed) Gilbert Goh sent an email to the Education Minister Ong Ye Kung urging his Ministry to waive off unpaid school fees and return students’ result slips.
In an earlier Facebook post on Monday (25 November), Mr Goh highlighted the plight of a student whose original Primary School Leaving Examination (PLSE) result slip was withheld by the Ministry of Education (MOE), as her parents had incurred S$156 in unpaid school fees. Eventually, a Good Samaritan paid the school fees for the student so that she can get her original PSLE result slip.
In response to this, MOE told Yahoo! News Singapore the next day (26 November) that the real aim of doing so “stems from the underlying principle that notwithstanding the fact that the cost of education is almost entirely publicly funded, we should still play our part in paying a small fee, and it is not right to ignore that obligation, however small it is”.
“Further, students from lower-income families can apply for financial assistance that covers their miscellaneous fees, uniforms, textbooks, transport and school meals. If it is about money then the easier solution would be to reduce subsidies and financial assistance,” it added.
Sharing the email following the previous exchanges on Transitioning.org, Mr Goh said that although he applauds the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) “laudable financial assistance scheme (FAS) which benefitted thousands of needy students each year”, but some students may not receive them due to many other reasons.
“However, it came to our attention that some students may fall through the crack when it comes to application of FAS due to various unique reasons – incomplete filling of forms due to a missing family member, sudden loss of a breadwinner through retrenchment or just missing out on the FAS criteria mark of S$2750 gross income per household or S$690 per capita income,” the activist wrote.
He added that some may even feel ashamed to apply for financial help “due to their ego and prefer to tough it out worsening the problem for the innocent child”.

Adopt a compassionate approach in dealing with needy families

As such, Mr Goh stated that the schools should be more proactive in identifying “vulnerable students who have a prolonged accumulation of school fees for more than six months”. This is because not paying their fees for such a long period of time is a clear sign that things may not be so good at home.
He suggested that “the school counsellor can attend to such cases to nip it in the bud before the situation deteriorates further”.
He added that to simply expect families to come forward and apply for FAS may not be possible with “some families who are either lowly-educated or swamped with their own personal issues”.
“They need a gentle nudge, a loving compassionate touch to show that the school is also caring out than the current institutional trend of coldness and aloofness when it comes to handling families living in poverty,” he wrote.
He continued, “Mr Ong, I hope that you will agree with me that we need to change our approach in handling those who could not pay their school fees as simply denying their original examination certificate is not the right solution to solve a longstanding problem.”
Therefore, Mr Goh urges MOE to “consider waving off these unpaid fees in a special compassionate goodwill gesture so that our needy children could finally receive their educational certificates”.
He also noted that by denying a child’s original result slip, it sends mixed signal to the child as he or she may feel “marginalised and punished for his parent’s fault”.
“It will also stir up anger and shame within the child who is still too young to comprehend the whole matter properly. Often, the child may feel that he is at fault lapsing into adverse emotional backlash or he may lay the blame squarely on his family which is also unhealthy,” Mr Goh explained.
If the Ministry can’t offer this special waiver, then Mr Goh said that his organisation will try collecting the funds through crowdfunding in order to pay back all the backlogged school fees over the years so the students can get their original certificate.
“We want to work hand in hand with the ministry to resolve a complicated long-standing matter and hopefully we can groom children to be responsible and compassionate despite their family situation,” he penned.
Faced similar situation in school
In the email, the activist said that he is passionate about this matter as he was raised in a poor environment himself, and could not attend kindergarten as his family could not afford the school fees.
“Every morning, I would run to the school and peep in from outside the gate entrance gawking in envy at those who could attend the sessions. From a very young age, I was also fostered out for a long ten years due to the fact that my parents have to work very long hours to make ends meet. I felt abandoned and could never understand why we have to leave our parents and stay with strangers,” he said.
He added, “My childhood experience has scarred me for life but it has also toughened me up a lot as I always feel much for the underdogs and try to speak up for them whenever possible. I am writing this with tears streaming down my cheeks as it is never easy to come to terms with any childhood scars often embedded deep within our memory and any healing is a life-long struggle.”
Given his personal struggle as a child, Mr Goh pleaded to the Education Ministry to rethink the Ministry’s decision to hold students’ result certificate until outstanding payments are made.
He said that it’s not only cruel but also “psychologically damaging” to a child’s esteem.
“I am also open to a face-to-face meeting with you so that we can discuss this matter openly and cordially,” he wrote at the end of his email.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

总理脸书发文:重视军训安全 不草率处理过失

我国总理李显龙在脸书发文,强调武装部队非常重视军训安全, 会尽全力让军训达到“零死亡率”的目标。同时也表示,他身为总理必须确保国防部有能干的领导团队。在军训事故发生时,政府必须向遇难者家属交代、向全体国民服役人员和人民交代,政府不会敷衍了事,草率处理任何过失。 他在一小时前,在个人脸书专页上载中英文稿,针对近期发生的军训事故发表声明。 “宝贵的生命就这样结束。我非常清楚失去亲人的悲痛,对父母来说,他们失去最疼爱的儿子。如果事故涉及公众人物,如冯伟衷一等中士,民众的反应就更强烈了,更难以接受他们的离世。” 相信这也是自战备军人冯伟衷意外事故以来,李显龙针对军训安全议题,首次亲自发表的个人声明。 “每一次发生事故后,我们都会关心受伤士兵的伤势,给他们最好的医疗照顾。对于不幸去世的战友,我们感到伤心难过,我们能体会家属失去至亲的悲痛心情,对同袍们来说也失去了出生入死的兄弟。但我们必须强忍悲伤,为他们的家人提供最好的安排,给他们最佳的照顾,并继续执行我们武装部队的使命。” 他强调,武装部队也会一一展开调查,找出事故发生的原因。之后,武装部队一定会加强安全体系和运作程序,确保类似事故不再发生。即便这非常不容易,但仍须全力以赴,因为每个生命都是宝贵的。 他也指出作为前军官,对于保障下属军训安全有深刻体会,很了解需要为自己部下的军训水平、个人安全以及军中福利负责,代替父母照顾他们。 “后来,身为参谋长,每当发生军训事故时,我都要出面处理,纠正过失,决定处分,对整个运作程序作适当的调整,应该改的就去改,应该做的就去做。我有义务向遇难者的家属交代。我必须想尽办法,在士兵履行使命时,保障他们的安全。” “我和武装部队领导都重视军训安全” 他强调自身和武装部队领导,都非常重视军训安全,并认真看待。“非常重视军训安全,他们会认真对待一切事情。” 他说,战时士兵冲锋陷阵,但在和平时的军训就要保障他们安全。…

98 new cases of COVID-19 infection in S’pore; 59 cases linked to North Coast Lodge

As of Monday noon (23 Aug), the Ministry of Health (MOH) has…

Some Reflections on the Presidential Election 2011

~By: Dr Wong Wee Nam/~ The Presidential Election 2011 is interesting and…

Clinging to the Noose – Is Singapore getting left behind?

Kirsten Han / Out of all the countries in South-east Asia, only…