Last tuesday evening, I went to school and enlisted for the trimester. No, there’s no online enlistment. But normally, it’s a relatively quick and easy affair. Unfortunately, there was a power outage and most of us weren’t able to complete the final step: payment of fees at the university cashier. Since, most– if not all– of us MBA students are working and living far from the campus, this is definitely an inconvenience. But not exactly the school’s fault.
Fortunately(?), I have an exam on the next day at 6 to 8 PM. I figured it would be good to go to school early and pay before the exam. But I forgot the check at home so I didn’t go to the cashier. No, they don’t accept credit cards or bank transfers. Some of my classmates who did go to the cashier found out the hard way that the cashiers, although open, do not accept payments on wednesdays!!!
Yesterday was the last day for regular payments. So I made it a point to go to school after work so I can finally pay and not get fined. I got there around 5:30 PM only to see my classmate Carla sitting on a bench in front of the cashiers reading a magazine. She told me she has been waiting since 5 PM because the cashiers will only accept MBA tuition payments for after 6 PM. Gelo, another classmate, walked in soon after. He told me he was there earlier at 3 PM, had queued up along with other students paying their dropping fees, and was told the same thing when it was his turn. O_o
My and my classmates’ experience would not be out of place at a government office but not in a supposedly progressive-minded institution as a university, one of the “premier” ones at that. No wonder it is deteriorating.