More than 80 individuals are still waiting for a refund even after two years. They registered for the International English Language Testing System or IELTS at the Royal Institute of Management in January 2020. They paid some Nu 13,000 each for the test. IELTS is an English language test for study, migration or work.
The test was supposed to be held on March 21, 2020. But the pandemic closed the testing centre cancelling the test. And 82 individuals are still waiting for a refund even after exchanging emails after emails with the institute.
“It’s not one day, not one week or one month. It’s been two years now. It would be good if RIM can conduct the IELTS exam in another place but if that’s not possible, we would be grateful if they could refund us this month,” said Sangay Chophel, IELTS candidate.
“Some have borrowed Nu 13,250, some might not have financially strong family and for some, it’s hard-earned money. It is just Nu 13,250 for an individual but altogether, for like 81 people, it is in million,” said Damcho Tshering, another IELTS candidate.
“I am a self-funded college student. It’s a problem. First thing, I need to pay the fee and I need to pay for other expenditures. We sent them emails. Earlier, two or three times, they replied to our emails but after that, we didn’t receive any email or information,” said Phuntsho Choden, IELTS candidate.
The IELTS coordinator at the Royal Institute of Management said the British Council in the UK assured to refund by the end of next month.
The coordinator said the closure of the British Council Office in India last year delayed the process. Now, the money has to come from the UK. The coordinator said they are in constant touch with the British Council in the UK.
Samten Dolkar
