Forcing Primary Students to use Ez-Link Cashless System
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with $2 monthly charges for usage. No alternatives.
http://www.asiaone.com.sg/streats/20040219_story3_1.html
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February 19, 2004
$2 fee to buy to buy from tuckshop School's cashless system forces pupils to use ez-link in canteen,bookshop
By Chua Kong Ho
Would you fork out $24 a year in fees so that you could use an ez-link card to pay for your food at the canteen?
Perhaps.
But students at Naval Base Primary School do not have a choice.
They have to use ez-link cards to pay for their canteen transactions and purchases at the bookshop because their school has gone - cashless.
The students can opt out of the scheme.
But the principal's ban on canteen vendors accepting cash means students would then be unable to buy food.
IT vendor Chowiz Pte Ltd, which developed and manages the Web-based system the canteen vendors use, charges each student $2 a month.
Naval Base Primary School's principal, Ms Elizabeth Poey, told reporters at the launch of the scheme yesterday that the $2 is deducted from the students' Edusave accounts.
Both EZ-Link and POSB, which are behind the arrangement, stand to gain from their involvement.
EZ-Link makes a commission on every transaction made using an ez-link card.
POSB benefits, as it stands to grow its customer base because, in order to participate in this scheme, students need to have a POSBKids Account
linked to the ez-link card.
But the bank, which pioneered mass savings among children here, said that students will gain from this.
Under the scheme, unspent pocket money can be transferred to the child's POSBKids Account to earn interest.
This allows children to learn about budgeting and managing their finances from a young age, said POSB managing director Lam Siok Loon.
Chowiz, POSB and EZ-Link target introducing this scheme at another 40 schools by the end of the year.
Said Mrs Lam: "Our aim is to open a POSBKids Account for every primary school kid in Singapore.
POSB currently has more than 300,000 POSBKids Accounts.
Mr Chan Soo Sen, Minister of State (Education, Community Development and Sports), attending the launch of the scheme yesterday, said: "It is
heartening to see such collaboration between the private sector and schools as the ultimate beneficiaries are our students."
Chowiz, too.
It comes up with an initial outlay of about $40,000 a school to equip it with the necessary Web server, card readers and terminals.
But it will collect $26,400 from the 1,100 students at Naval Base Primary School, at $2 a student.
With a target of 40 schools, Chowiz can expect more than $1 million in fees a year.
Mr Chow Hoo Siong, Chowiz's managing director, said that one in 10 parents initially chose to opt out of the scheme.
"With any new technology, there will be some who are initially opposed to it, he said, adding that half of those who initially opted out have since rejoined the scheme."
Mr Chow also said that Chowiz has approached tertiary institutions with the same proposal to go cashless but without success.
"Tertiary students are older and much
harder to convince (of the value of the services), he said.
EZ-Link senior vice-president Nicholas Lee said that he did not expect the schools to be a "primary revenue driver for the loss-making company".
"This is more about adding value to the ez-link card and to get the schoolchildren used to paying for purchases with their ez-link card, he said.
EZ-Link, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Land Transport Authority, incurred public wrath when it chose to sell its ez-link cards to members of the public for $5 instead of collecting a refundable deposit.
It has tried to develop non-transit uses for its contactless cards but has met with little success.
EZ-Link earns a commission each time someone uses its cards to pay for a purchase.
Mr Lee declined to reveal how much commission EZ-Link earns per transaction,but it is believed to be around 1.4 per cent of the transaction value.
He also told Streats yesterday that EZ-Link was planning to interest companies in using its cards as staff passes, which would have functions ranging from building access to keeping track of attendance.
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Crazy lah, forcing the vendors to go cashless means the kids lan lan have to go cashless already. Still can opt out of the scheme. Then no need recess already loh. Go out buy roti prata eat.
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Using arrogrance as a marketing method is generally a bad idea...
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i somehow think they have plan this long before.
With the $5 increase and now forcing students to use ez-links card.
they're simply trying to popularise the use of EZ-link in a extremely crude way so in turn they earn in both ways. -
I thot I posted same issue...
anyway the company belongs to "gahmen" right hand to left pocket..no diff. Worst it is your $ they invested to get your $$....
They cannot earn enough on ezlink fare card cos max each only own 1.......now they charge $2 per mth.....
easy money..no option...must take....imagine how many schools, how many students?......jus collect $$$ every mth.... .
what is next to ? lower our pay......but spend on these? So they ask why money not enough? enough for fart.....maybe not get fine too -
Now, they clarified that $2 subscription is borne by school. Still no alternative/option .
http://www.asiaone.com.sg/streats/20040220_story1_1.html
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February 20, 2004
School absorbs $2 fee for cashless system
Students still have to pay $2 a month if they opt for online savings portion of the overall programme
By Chua Kong Ho
NAVAL Base Primary School is absorbing the $2 monthly fee that allows pupils to use their ez-link cards at the canteen and for other purposes.
IT firm Chowiz Pte Ltd, which developed and manages the suite of school applications using the ez-link card, clarified yesterday that the costs of subscription are borne not by the students but by the school.
Ms Emily Lim, business development manager at Chowiz, said its eLifestyle suite of applications allows students to perform functions such as buying food at the canteen using their ez-link card, paying for incidentals such as photocopy costs, logging in their attendance and temperature readings, using their ez-link cards.
The schoolÂ’s canteen vendors and bookshop operator do not accept cash.
Students, however, have to pay for the newly launched online savings programme in collaboration with POSB.
This scheme is an optional module of the overall cashless system.
The fee is also $2 a month for each student and can be paid for through oneÂ’s Edusave Account because it is considered an enrichment programme, said Ms Lim.
Naval Base Primary launched the e-savings programme on Wednesday, the first school in Singapore to do so.
Under the programme, students can select modules from an online curriculum to learn how to budget and manage their finances. They can also transfer unspent pocket money to a POSBKids savings account to earn interest.
Addressing concerns that some needy students may not be able to afford the $2 monthly fee for the e-savings programme, Ms Lim gave the assurance that Chowiz will waive the $2 fee for pupils on financial assistance schemes.
"We want to bring the benefits of technology to every student," she said.
She also stressed that the e-savings programme was an optional one. Those who do not wish to take the programme can still use their ez-link cards to perform other functions under the basic suite, such as making purchases at the canteen or bookshop.
ChowizÂ’s clarification comes as a relief for many parents, who were worried that they would be burdened with even more fees when more schools adopt the programme. The company aims to introduce the e-savings plan at 40 schools by the end of this year.
But even though parents or students do not have to pay for their schools to go cashless, many still want the option of using cash at schools.
Mr Jamsari Ahmad, 38, a systems manager and father of a four-year-old, suggested that students should be given a choice of using cash or their ez-link cards. He pointed out that incentives could be used to encourage pupils to adopt the contactless card payment, instead of using a blanket ban.
He cited the example of commuters paying lower fares for using their ez-link cards on buses and the MRT than when they pay in cash.
Some parents also expressed concern that the young will not know how to handle real money as schools go increasingly "cashless".
Said Mr Jamsari: "How will my child know how to distinguish between a 10-cent coin and a 50-cent coin if he doesnÂ’t handle cash in school?"
Others questioned the wisdom of paying $24 a year to participate in an online savings scheme. They pointed that the interest accrued may not be sufficient to cover the cost of joining the scheme.
Said Mr Ho Chee Meng, 36, an account manager: "At the current level of interest rates offered in Singapore, the children will have to save thousands of dollars to offset the yearly fee of $24 (for the e-savings programme)."
Chowiz said that the fee should be seen as paying for the curriculum content and not just for the savings transfer alone.
There are those who support Naval Base PrimaryÂ’s decision to launch the e-savings programme.
Mr Michael Choy said: "It is important for us to understand that the school has taken a futuristic approach to helping their students adopt the right mindset to 21st century financial transactions, the age of the cashless society."
He added: "We should look beyond the administrative fees to see how what is done today in the school would benefit the students tomorrow."
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Originally posted by thinker:
tertiary students also are more mature & have more choices than stick to the school canteen(s).
[b]with $2 monthly charges for usage. No alternatives.
http://www.asiaone.com.sg/streats/20040219_story3_1.html
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Mr Chow also said that Chowiz has approached tertiary institutions with the same proposal to go cashless but without success.
"Tertiary students are older and much
harder to convince (of the value of the services), he said.
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since when singapore government never force people?
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wat next? force every married couple compulsory must hv four kids?
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whohohohohoho you never know manzOriginally posted by BrUtUs:wat next? force every married couple compulsory must hv four kids?
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lolx make me wonder whether my cousins when gonna be hit by this
four kids too much liao lah if compulsory i migrate liao -
my thoughts:
1. i think most of us would agree going cashless tends to make us spend more, cos its not as visible. this will definitely apply for kids too. so how is this going to make them more prudent and learn abt savings??
2. tertiary students are harder to convince, so they admit. so why isit hard to push this to them? perhaps its cos its not a good idea at all! and so how? they shaft this down the kids' (and their parents') throats cos they cant complain! and MOE is sanctioning this? i am wondering if its MOE who wanted to go in this direction and den found the vendor to do so, or the other way round - MOE is jus the guinea pig.
3. remember when they introduced the fee for buying ezlink cards, they mentioned that the idea is to introduce ezlink cards into other commercial areas than transport? so! this is how they r doing it, and wat we r paying for. -
Their rationale on preparing the kids for a "futuristic" future is illy thought out and bordering on the ridiculus as those very kids are probably light years ahead of the school when it comes to grasping technological tends, as if they need to be thought to use some ez-link cards. Please, spare me. If you intend to make poorly justified desisions without consulting the public because it is your right to do so, just do it and quite insulting our intelligence.
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In my secondary school, we had this irritating Cashcard system. Strictly no cash allowed. One day the principal come down.......
and use cash to pay. sianz... -
and no one complained?Originally posted by SingaporeMacross:In my secondary school, we had this irritating Cashcard system. Strictly no cash allowed. One day the principal come down.......
and use cash to pay. sianz...
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Thats how the system works here by friend, the authourities constantly try to push the limits on how much they can rip Singaporeans off to feed the system's coffers, and pull back a bit when people complain.Originally posted by oldbreadstinks:and no one complained?
Only to push in a different area when the furore dies down. They know that out of every 10 times they push, most of us lie down without a whimper and let ourselves be ripped off.
Thats how the system works. -
EZ-Link the Holy Card Strikes Again
In a bid to bleed moe Singaporeans to keep the Ezlink Titanic afloat, the bloodthirsty barons of Ezlink have found a new target: under 12-year-old kids. Besides instituting a bloody $5 surcharge on replacement Ezlink cards in the midts of a recession, holding the citizenry hostage to the need to travel from Point A to Point B in Singapore, these Bloodhounds have now targeted the stomachs of under 12 year-old kids. No Ezlink no food. You want food, minimum two bucks. You want moe? You want moe?? No choice, no options. "You take it or starve and die kid", the message from our state-run enterprise of first world cashless and heartless technology. First transport, now food. Its as good as Ezlink asking underage kids to perform oral on them since they now dictate what goes into their mouths in school.
Wanna hear moe? That a school, a paragon product of the education hierarchy, a principal succumbs to this bloody plan with such ease and such zealousness of implemetation takes the cake. This is the weakest link? How so can a principal agree to this absurdity? A kid forgets to bring the Holy Card, lets hope his intestines do not start fusing together. Can we call the cops? Ear checks should be made the norm for civil servants aspiring to lead a school of children: take a peep through the ear, if you see light at the other end of the tunnel, stamp a "FAIL", next in line please. MOE hear this well.
Wanna hear moe? Ezlink barons to get out of the red, u smear urself with more blood, and your hearts turn black. How much moe you wanna bleed before you sink yourself and how many targets do you wanna drag down with your tentacles or technology manacles? Lets have a line of 12 year old kids, going up one by one to the tuckshop, swiping the Holy Card and asking "Gimme Some Change Please"
Zhong Eh
21.02.04 -
No options for people = compulsory = ridiculous. -
unbelievable... these people are horrendous... forcing people to use ez link card is already bad, now have to pay fees... what are they trying to do? no more places to dig money, so attack young children now... sad... ez link is an evil card...
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alternative option = ta pao from home like the japanese do.
anyway if you woke up and ate breakfast at 6-7am, is there still a need to eat anything at 10am when lunch is just 2 hours away?
for those that skip breakfast then ta pao from home loh. -
"Tertiary students are older and much
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harder to convince (of the value of the services), he said
Its because if you piss tertiary students off, they will leave, or they may revolt. If the entire Singapore population were to revolt,, under a revolutionary leader, the government will be powerless. Seriously, the trick lies in uniting the people for revolution. But it may come one day.. one day. Anywayz, they dont want to be hard on older students, because older students have more rights than dumbass primary kids.EZ-Link earns a commission each time someone uses its cards to pay for a purchase.
They must be desperate for $
But i dont give a damn, I have my rights, I have my card, which is useful for riding the bus and proving to people I am an innocent student. That's all the use it will ever be, besides helping prove i exist and for borrowing books.
But I question the logic of banning money? What is wrong with money? If you keep all your money in a card, that is very risky. How does one check how much money he has in his card in an OVERCROWDED stressful school environment, (like most primary schools), with hectic schedules, not enough time to go to the toilet even, let alone check how much money you have. Also, to check how much money you have in coins and notes is faster than using a card, you need a special scanner machine to check it. It is very illogical
After all the bull i have read, I still do not see the reason for such a programme. Other than: ""It is important for us to understand that the school has taken a futuristic approach to helping their students adopt the right mindset to 21st century financial transactions, the age of the cashless society." -
Complain and then do what? Lol some of us will go down to primary school to eat, if we have no cashcard. Obviously they banned us from going there lar.Originally posted by oldbreadstinks:and no one complained? -
i think another school that uses this system is anglo chinese school barker road -
Just another thought...I learnt my dollars and cents in primary school using real money when I go canteen.
With this new cashless system, can the kids learn?
I mean, when you are a kid, your parents give you money, you know you can save how much by spending how much. With a card, can you really do that?
The danger scenario would be the kid growing up only knowing that if I need something I use a card.
Makes me ponder....
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A cashless society is the aim of our gahmen and perhaps many other govts of developed nations.
I always find it amusing when ang moh tourists seem baffled as to how to use the EZ-link card at MRT stations. Yet their nations boast of being the technological front runners in this and in that.
It is a bold move by MOE to consider this step (clearly naval base administration could not have dreamt of this fantasy) and it does have its virtues:
a. opening a shared (with their parents) account for kids (which is presently tax-free till they reach 21)
b. encouraging kids not to keep large sums of money in their pockets. (i do hope the ez-link cards have their identification on it like those for tertiary students)
However, i would question the manner in which it has been implemented. Schools have an alumni committee and a parents committee. These two 'unions' should be actively involved in the decision-making. In this case i seriously doubt they were given a chance to 'vote', if there was indeed a voting process.
This method is becoming more and more rampant within govt-related circles. A high-handed leadership who makes the decisions, believing their 'we know best' attitude is right for all, the lack of common sense and democracy in making the final decision etc etc.
Since the govt is eager to establish their methods as transparent and clean, perhaps they can 'educate' the public as to how MOE came abt this new implementation? Perhaps they could publish minutes of discussions abt a cashless school payment system which was held i presume? Why cut the apple in half and only offer us one side?