Originally posted by depressed:
AD'S PSLE SHOCK: He goes to collect her daughter's exam results,
he's told:
No payment, no result slip
By Shree Ann Mathavan
November 26 2005
WHILE others rejoiced or cried over their PSLE results yesterday,
she was stuck in the middle of a standoff between her father and
her school.
The school's stand: Pay your school fee arrears before you can get
your result slip.
Her father's stand: I have no money, so how can I pay?
So the 13-year-old Fuchun Primary student was left in limbo,
wondering how she had fared in the Primary School Leaving
Examination.
The EM3 pupil was repeating her PSLE, after failing last
year.
She started crying as she spoke about not receiving her result
slip.
'I'm very shocked and sad,' was all she muttered.
Her father, Mr Ikhsan Ahmad, 35, was more vocal.
The dispatch rider told The New Paper that he and his daughter had
been looking forward to her results.
TOOK LEAVE TO SUPPORT HER
He took a day's no-pay leave to accompany her to her school in
Woodlands, but was shocked to find out that his daughter could not
get her results.
'The principal, Mrs Koh, told me they can't release my daughter's
results because of our outstanding payments,' he said.
The school confirmed it had withheld the girl's result slip, but
said she had been told in detail on how she fared. (See report on
top of facing page.)
Mr Ikhsan disputed this, saying his daughter was only told that she
had passed.
He admitted owing the school $566 for her fees because he
had no money.
The sole breadwinner in an extended family of nine, he said he was
heavily in debt.
This was not immediately apparent when
The New Paper visited his four-room flat in Woodlands yesterday
afternoon.
It was simply furnished and neat, with a large TV set in the living
room.
Mr Ikhsan said he takes home $1,100 a month after his CPF
deduction.
Besides his daughter, he has three other children in primary
school.
He said his wife recently had surgery to remove a tumour from her
stomach.
Also living with them are his mother-in-law, who has breast cancer,
and two brothers-in-law, one of whom has Down's Syndrome.
The other brother-in-law, 26, works as a part-time security
guard but is unable to contribute money as he has to pay for the
maintenance of his ex-wife.
The family's monthly expenses include the children's school
transport of about $160, utility bills of about $200, instalments
of $250 on Mr Ikhsan's motorcycle and $200 for petrol.
He also owes Fuchun Primary more than
$800 in fees for his three other children. He showed The New Paper
invoices for their school fees as of 5 Nov. On top of this, he owes
Singapore General Hospital more than $4,000, following his wife's
surgery. He said his wife has been in and out of hospital since the
operation and was admitted again on Wednesday. He claimed he tried
to show proof of this to the school principal.
CALLED MOE
Eventually, he said he called the Ministry of Education (MOE) and
was told after an hour to return and see the school clerk.
'They asked me how I intended to pay the school fees. I told them
if they want to talk money, I'm not interested. What I want is to
get my daughter's results,' he said.
'They asked for an instalment plan to pay
them. I can make a thousand and one instalment plans, but if I
can't make payment, how? People will say I only know how to plan,
but never pay.'
He said he was told by the school that he would be informed of a
decision in two or three days.
'So I told them if you can't release the results today, you keep it
then. My daughter does not need to go to school. I said this
because I hoped they would release the results.'
The last date for the submission of Secondary 1 school options is
30 Nov.
Mr Ikhsan said he was worried that by the time the school gets back
to him, he might not have much time to decide on a secondary school
for his daughter.
It would be a rush to submit the forms by the deadline, he
said.
She will get result slip on Monday, school says
MR IKHSAN'S daughter is not the only one affected by
non-payment of school fee arrears, said the Fuchun Primary
principal-designate.
And if others have accepted the school's conditions, why can't
he?
Said Mrs Koh Ai Lay, 37: 'Mr Ikhsan was not able to receive his
daughter's results because he had accumulated fee arrears.
'As the school has other Pri 6 students who are making attempts to
pay off their fee arrears, we decided to release the result slips
for all affected students on Monday.' So how many such cases were
there?
'About 10,' she said, adding that no one else had complained.
Said Mrs Koh: 'We verbally gave him his daughter's results today,
and her teacher gave her an individual breakdown of the grades of
each subject.
'We also encouraged Mr Ikhsan to use a proxy form if he was unable
to accompany his daughter for the registration. The proxy form
enables him to authorise another person to register his daughter in
the Secondary 1 option in his absence.'
Did the school know the family was in hardship and had problems
paying their fees?
Mrs Koh said: 'We are fully aware that Mr Ikhsan is the sole
breadwinner of his family as we have been helping them. His
children have received assistance under the MOE Financial
Assistance Scheme.'
SONS GETTING HELP
She said his son in Primary 2 was receiving the School Advisory
Committee Financial Assistance, and his son in Pri 5 had been given
a book assistance grant sponsored by an external agency.
'We are also in the midst of our application for free textbooks for
two of his children who are going to Pri 4 and Pri 6 in
2006.'
Mrs Koh also pointed out that admission to Sec 1 was not on a
first-come first-served basis.
'My intention is to release the result slips by the 28th, so there
is time. Parents need not rush to register.'
Yo! our dear government! what have you been doing?
Though I share my sympathy with Mr Ikhsan Ahmad daughter plight,
in no way will I extend my sympathy towards Mr Ikhsan. Having read
the article, I find that Mr Ikhsan is merely trying to be
difficult. 
