AT THIS time of the year, families with school-going children
are enjoying the year-end holidays. It is also around this time
that the Ministry of Eduction (MOE) sends out letters to students
who have done well in their studies to receive Edusave awards.
Often, parents are given very tight timeframes to submit their
letters to claim these awards. It was particularly bad last year
when the letters arrived just a day or two before the closing date
for submission. I am certain many parents would have missed the
deadline if they had been overseas on holidays when the letters
arrived.
My daughter received the Edusave Merit Bursary Award letter and
was told to submit her claim within a specified timeframe. In the
letter it was stated that supporting income documents must be
submitted upon request.
But when I submitted the application, I was told to submit my
pay slip as well, which I did not have on hand.
I took issue with the People's Association (PA) counter staff
for asking for my income statement even before they had started
reviewing my application.
Surely the MOE can make processes simpler rather than have PA
staff ask for documents that are not necessary at the time of
submission of application.
I hope the MOE and PA can work together to make the process
simpler for parents and students.
Wee Eng Leong
