Warned 3
times
ST breaking news 11.39am 4 Mar
NANYANG Technological University student David Hartanto Widjaja
was warned not once, but three times, that he had to buck up or
lose his scholarship.
In the past year, the 21-year-old NTU engineering student
received three warning letters, copies of which were sent to his
parents in Jakarta, The New Paper reported on Wednesday. But
Widjaja's grades did not improve.
Two weeks ago, his scholarship was terminated. On Monday,
Widjaja, and Indonesian, stabbed Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk,
45, in the back in his office during a discussion on the student's
final year project , then slit his own wrists before fleeing and
falling four floors to his death.
An NTU spokesman told TNP: 'Widjaja's Asean scholarship was
terminated at the beginning of this year as his grades had fallen
below a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.5. The school had asked him
to seek help for his studies when we noticed that his grades were
dropping, but he didn't.'
The spokesman added: 'NTU had also advised him on the various
loans offered to him should he have any financial difficulties in
his school fees.'
The scholarship's criteria is apparently not at all stringent,
and there is no penalty for termination of the study award, said
TNP.
Four of NTU's Asean scholars said the scholarship terms were
reasonable and they didn't face major difficulties in achieving the
required grade - a GPA of at least 3.5 for each semester, an
equivalent of a B grade.
Was it the stress of the final year project that led to
Widjaja's tragic death then?
Many final-year students didn't think it should have caused such
a dramatic reaction.
A group of Electrical and Electronic Engineering students told
TNP that the stress of possibly wasting three years of hard work
because of a poorly done FYP was very real.
Said Wayne Lim, 26: 'Your FYP grades will eventually affect your
overall results. IT's easy for your grades to slip, but harder for
them to go up again.'
