Most of us usually follow the same path in life. Study hard, get a degree, work hard and live off your earnings. It definitely seems like a safe and solid plan. But, that also means that most don’t know what to do if that plan falls through. Well, that’s what happened to this man from Johor Bahru.
The 32-year-old man has been struggling to find a job for the past few years despite holding a business degree. It’s certainly not from a lack of trying. However, what is stopping him came as quite the shock. As it turns out, his diploma, which he had earned from five years of studying, was not certified!
邓 (transliteration: Mr. Deng) held a press conference this morning (10th March) to appeal this issue. He was helped by the Tebrau District MP, Jimmy Puah. Mr. Deng explained that he had always wanted to be a financial analyst. And in 2010, he followed his dream after a friend introduced him to a private college in Century Garden, Johor Bahru. Said college had apparently offered a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
He had supposedly been attracted by the college’s presumably affordable tuition fees and it’s allowance for studying part-time. It was something Mr. Deng had needed, as he was still helping to support his family at the time. But he persisted and five years later, he graduated with a diploma.
Things were seemingly going well as he also managed to land a job at a local bank. But, a week before he started, the bank contacted him with some bad news. Apparently, as his diploma was not recognised, he could not take on the job. The news left him bereft of work and he admitted it had even driven him to consider suicide.
“I worked so hard and got a diploma that wasn’t recognised,” Mr. Deng reportedly shared. “I felt hopeless.” But, he later discovered that his fellow students were undergoing the same problem. Mr. Deng immediately contacted the college’s management for an explanation. However, he was not given a reasonable response. In fact, they supposedly threatened to sue him for defamation too.
Mr. Deng claimed he has already reported the matter to the police, even contacting them again last month. “I have also complained to the (arbitration tribunal) and the Ministry of Higher Education,” he added. “But there (was) no follow up.” As far as he knows, the college has allegedly changed its name and moved its operations elsewhere.
Currently, Mr. Deng has found work in Singapore thanks to his results from the Malaysian Certificate of Education (SPM) exam. However, he is still hoping authorities will take notice of his case. We can certainly understand his frustration and hope justice will be served.
Source: China Press
