Parents of Yale-NUS students are pissed off with the college’s abrupt closure. They demand answers from NUS President Tan Eng Chye and want to meet him this week in an online townhall. They rejected his counter-proposal of having small-group meetings in view of Covid-19 safe management measures. That is just an excuse.
“We find that this is a reasonable and respectful request, seeing as to how you preferred to announce your decision to shutter Yale-NUS’ door through a townhall for students”.
Of course they are frustrated. Since the announcement of the merger in late August, they were not engaged with by the NUS management. They were invited to an earlier townhall but it did not provide answers as no one from the management attended. Their requests for Prof Tan to be present at the townhall were also declined. They remain in the dark about the reasons for Yale-NUS’ merger.
Some parents are even paying for their children’s tuition fees (which usually amount to about $30,000) and are rightfully pissed off about the school’s sudden closure – on top of uncertainties regarding the curriculum and their children’s future prospects. The NUS management has clearly failed in its accountability to students and parents. They all deserve answers, transparency and respect, but even that is too much to ask.
