After Spending Thousands For Her Children To Study English In Malta, Mother Demands A Refund
A woman who spent around €12,000 for her two children to study English in Malta is furious at the abrupt closure of EFL schools and is demanding a refund.
Selman Galipoğlu booked an eight-week course for her children at an EFL school, including private lessons, last January, putting her back around €6,000 (€3,000 per child). She used up her annual leave to travel to Malta with them, spending an additional €6,000 to rent a Sliema apartment for two months.
However, three weeks into her children’s course, the government announced the closure of EFL schools due to a spike in COVID-19 cases among language students.
Galipoğlu told Lovin Malta that she is now demanding a refund of the school fees and a partial refund of the accommodation costs and is considering legal options.
While the school has yet to get back to her, the landlord has refused her request, citing an Airbnb refund policy that states guests impacted by new national COVID-19 restrictions are no longer automatically entitled to refunds.
Health Minister Chris Fearne
She considered inviting her husband over from Turkey to see the remaining weeks out as a holiday but the new travel rules ban entry to people who haven’t been fully vaccinated with a vaccine recognised by the Maltese health authorities.
These are the Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, while her husband has been vaccinated with Sinovac.
This experience has left Galipoğlu with a bitter taste in her mouth and she said she regrets her decision to enroll her children at a Maltese EFL school.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Robert Abela defended Malta’s two new COVID-19 restrictions, insisting they were based on scientific advice and were “tough but necessary”.
Have you been impacted by Malta’s new COVID-19 rules?
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