Complaint, Dispute & Grievance Resolution Procedure

EAST is committed to resolve all complaints and disputes that students may have against the school in a fair and Christian manner.

Filing a complaint

• Complaint, Dispute, and Grievance Form

All complaints, disputes and grievances from students are to be directed to the Dean of Students or Principal for resolution⁽¹⁾. Any student who has a formal complaint, dispute or grievance against the school or its official representatives is to prescribe the complaint formally on the "Complaint, Dispute and Grievance Resolution Form." The form is to be submitted to the Dean of Students or Principal immediately. This form is obtainable from the Administrative office. The student should ensure that the following are clearly documented in the form:

1. The student's name and contact
2. The nature of the complaint (including time, place, people involved etc., wherever appropriate)
3. The date the complaint is launched.

The student should not fill in the Section C of the above form entitled "Resolution of Complaint." This section is to be used by the Dean of Students⁽²⁾ for tracking the resolution of the complaint. It shall only be signed by the Dean of Students⁽²⁾ together with the student upon the resolution of the complaint.

Order of Resolution

The Dean of Students⁽²⁾ will follow the following procedure to resolve all complaints, disputes and grievances:

1. Talk to the parties concerned and resolve the matter amicably.
2. If the matter still cannot be resolved, the Dean of Students⁽²⁾ will bring it up to the Operation Leaders (i.e., the Deans of the various branches in the school) of the school to assist in resolving the matter.
3. If the matter cannot be resolved by the Operation Leaders, it will be forwarded to the College Management for resolution.
4. In the event that the student and EAST, represented by the College Management, still cannot resolve a dispute amicably, EAST shall inform the student of the mediation channel available through the CASE Mediation Centre.
5. The student may refer the dispute to the CASE Mediation Centre for mediation. Prior to this, the student and EAST shall agree to share in the payment of the fees as prescribed by CASE Mediation Centre from time to time for the purpose of resolving the conflict.
6. Although EAST, being a Christian organization seeks to avoid bringing a Christian brother/sister to court, it understands that there may be legal dispute which, if still irresolvable by the CASE Mediation Centre, shall be referred to the courts of Singapore for arbitration.

Post-resolution

At any point of the fore mentioned, when the conflict is resolved, the Dean of Students⁽²⁾ shall record the manner in which the complaint is resolved under Section C ("Resolution of Complaint") of the "Complaint, Dispute and Grievance Resolution Form." The Dean of Students⁽²⁾, representing EAST and the student will both sign on the form to indicate acceptance of the resolution.

Complainant Protection

During the course of the resolution, the complainant (student) is promised the following

1. Maintenance of an up-to-date database on the student's records and details.
2. Fairness in resolution
3. Commitment to resolve a complaint within 21 days until and unless it is referred to outside bodies like CASE Mediation Centre or the courts in Singapore.
4. Constant update on the investigation of the complaint.

Footnote

⁽¹⁾ Under normal circumstances the Dean of Students is the main person in-charged of student grievances. However, the Principal will be the alternate recourse for cases where the Dean of Students is the one indicted or for reasons of confidentiality the student feels that a particular case can only be entrusted to the Principal. If the complaint is forwarded directly to the Principal, the Principal may appoint himself/herself, the Dean of Students or any other faculty staff to handle the complaint.

⁽²⁾ Or the Principal or the faculty/staff appointed by the Principal if the case was directed to the Principal.