Unauthorized deductions

I am deeply disappointed and hurt by how Rosebank College and Wisebooks have treated us as students. We were forced to pay through Rosebank College so that they could process our book orders via Wisebooks, even though we never wanted to use Wisebooks in the first place. We were forced to pay for books online through Wisebooks by the Rosebank staff handling our money — Winstonia and Tryphina, even though we didn’t want to. Now, after asking for a refund, 20% of our bursary book allowance has been deducted.

This is unfair and devastating. . This is not pocket money. This is money meant for our education, our future, and our survival as students. Losing 20% of our book allowance means we cannot afford the learning materials we need. How can we succeed academically if we are being stripped of the very resources that we paid for?

This feels unfair, exploitative, and extremely discouraging. We are students trying to build a better life through education, yet instead of being supported, we are penalized for circumstances beyond our control. Even SARS does not take such a high percentage when taxing — yet here, a large chunk of our allowance was taken without our consent.

All we want is fairness. All we want is the chance to use our full book allowance to buy the books we need. Please, stop making students suffer financially through policies and processes that take away what rightfully belongs to us.

Education should empower us, not leave us struggling.