Dear ESSEC Administration and respected parties,

We are writing this letter as a coalition of international students as well as on the behalf of the concerned parents of students from the GBBA Singapore program at ESSEC. We are writing to express our tremendous concern for the ongoing rapid spread of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) and the profound disappointment and concern towards the steps implemented by ESSEC Business School in Singapore to prevent the further spread of this dangerous virus.

To begin with, as international students, we can’t be compared to Singaporean students as we are not affected by the same things. We are financially dependent on our parents living elsewhere and because of the economies around the world slumping, the exchange rates are getting worse and it is becoming more expensive for us to stay here. 
Moreover, we are afraid that if the borders close we won’t be able to go back to our families and homes.
Many buildings close to ESSEC have confirmed cases of Coronavirus.
With new border restrictions taken every day, it is complicated for us to change plans every now and then and spend important amounts of money in new ways/plans in order to adapt to these measures (ex: buying new flight tickets for our family members or ourselves, cancelling travels or already booked flights).
We declared before travelling in the past week, however, the email sent to us does not imply the same things as the articles attached in the email, i.e, in the email it is said, “ if you are travelling from the below-mentioned countries back to Singapore after Monday 16 March 11:59 PM, you will be under strict Stay at Home Notice (SHN) from the government”, whereas in the articles it says, “from 16 March 2020, 2359 hours, all travellers (including Singapore Residents, Long Term Pass holders, and short-term visitors) entering Singapore with recent travel history to ASEAN countries, Japan, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom within the last 14 days will be issued with a 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN). 
This indeed is very confusing and we are not certain as to what we should follow.

ESSEC Cergy and ESSEC Rabat are being given online courses which clearly implies that ESSEC has the resources to conduct classes online and it is not exactly fair of 1/5th of the students to go to school and take exams and the others to take courses and exams online.
As for some students from certain countries, they will face a great impediment when trying to go back to the countries of which they are just residents. For example, the UAE will soon declare a law which prevents visa holders from entering. Few of us are residents in the UAE and will not be able to get back there, if the conditions exacerbate. Given the situation that the outbreak is getting serious, this will be a hassle for a lot of students if the law extends to other countries. 

Taken into account all of the concerns of our classmates, we only wish ESSEC would do something, preferably by offering online classes, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect the many interests of ESSEC students. We believe it is essential that ESSEC Asia-Pacific moves to online classes in order to ensure everyone safety and peace of mind.

Kindly,

ESSEC Asia-Pacific Students