A hospitality college is accepting coconuts as tuition fees from students. Know more

As many of its students struggled to pay tuition fees on account of the economic slowdown, a hospitality college in Bali has allowed students to pay their fees in coconuts and other natural products. The Venus One Tourism Academy came up with the solution to allow their students to pay in the form of natural raw materials if they were struggling. Wayan Pasek Adi Putra, an official at the institute, told that the supplies will be used to harvest Virgin Coconut Oil at the school.

“At first we began an installment program to pay their tuition fees, but now we’ve become even more flexible. Because of this COVID pandemic, we have adopted a flexible policy. We produce virgin coconut oil, so students can pay their tuition by bringing in coconut” Putra said. The college is accepting tuition payments in the form of other natural products like moringa leaves and Gotu kola leaves that are used to produce products such as herbal soap. Students can also resell their own products to develop their entrepreneurship skills. The school said the raw materials received from students will be used to produce coconut oil on the campus.“We have to educate them to optimize the natural resources in their surroundings. So when the pandemic is over, they would be more than just a common worker,” Putra said. College authorities said they have implemented various health and safety protocols to stay operational during the pandemic, including a limited number of students on each shift and daily temperature checks.