In the case of NLCS, 16 students have yet to pay their fees worth 215.9 million won, equivalent to US$196,000. (imgae: JDC)
SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – International schools on Jeju Island, which have been under fire for very expensive tuition fees, are reported to be having difficulties in managing their financial issues, such as collecting overdue tuition fees.
The Jeju Free International Development Center (JDC) announced that it uncovered irregularities in its affiliate Haewool Inc., which was developed by JDC to manage global educational institutions and two international schools on the island, including North London Collegiate School (NLCS) and Branksome Hall Asia (BHA). The result of its inspection showed that outstanding fees from students have exponentially grown.
In the case of NLCS, 16 students have yet to pay their fees worth 215.9 million won, equivalent to US$196,000. A total of 502 students didn’t pay late payment fees generated by outstanding school fees. Three BHA students haven’t paid fees of 9.8 million won and 34 didn’t settle their late fees.
JDC didn’t take any measures to deal with these students, such as prohibiting their attendance or forcing them out of dormitories. The school even set late payment fees without any standard.
NLCS prepaid the fees of 867.4 million won from its budget, but only 46.3 percent of students reimbursed the money, which means that the school is still waiting to collect the remainder worth 465.9 million won. At BHA, 539.7 million won, which was supposed to be paid by students who participated in three exchange student programs, was instead covered from its budget.
Inappropriate promotion is another problem the schools have faced. Haewool has promoted people without the necessary qualifications by forming a personnel committee that doesn’t abide by its regulations. It also overpaid severance pay to 19 retired officials by manipulating their work periods. It didn’t check absenteeism and tardiness records of 71 percent of its employees.
Hawool, founded by the JDC in June 2010, plays a role as a corporate body of the two international schools. Its capital stood at 20 billion won, but the amount of its capital erosion is now about 36.4 million won, putting the company in financial difficulties.
By Veronica Huh (veronicah@koreabizwire.com)
