Objection to repeating of Engineering Mathematics IV

Fuhreh

/ #5 The customer is always right

2011-09-27 16:19

We have been fed a lot of information during that meeting held on 23 July 2011 with no documentation to support. As the students are the ones that are affected the most, why have we been kept in the dark?

Why weren’t we given the opportunity to write a supplementary exam on the whole course if the exam we wrote was not acceptable?

The students weren’t even consulted. All we had was a meeting on 23 July 2011 in which we were bullied into repeating the entire course. We were given far too less time to discuss amongst ourselves, and our suggestions weren’t even considered. This meeting was merely an attempt to fool students into believing this decision was democratic.

It is clear to see the punishment dealt to us students (the customer)? How is the Mathematics department being punished for something which should their problem, and not the students?

Seeing that we am forced into repeating this course and thus wasting 6 months of my life, I am appealing to be compensated for all costs associated with Engineering Mathematics IV during the first semester of 2011. These costs include travelling to and from campus; time taken off work, including time to study for and write tests and exams, standby allowances, overtime, and associated travel claim; and events which I have paid for and not attended due to studying for tests and exams. I have missed on a Cricket World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan, which no price can be put on, because of a Math test. Furthermore the Rugby World Cup is this semester, and this is something that is far more important to us South Africans. I have also lost an immediate family members and friends in May/July this year, and once again the time I have wasted on Math could have been much better utilized with loved ones.

I have been studying since 2002, and I have never repeated a subject before. This repeat has caused me severe depression and I have even contemplated suicide. How am I going to be compensated for the shame I experience each time I deal with colleagues, friends, and each time I attend lectures?

What measures are in place to help the student?