Nas Academy removes course after instructor’s grandniece calls it a ‘scam’

Nas Academy, the edtech platform founded by Nuseir Yassin, has taken down one of its courses after a supposed relative of the lecturer said there were no contracts signed.

The Nas Academy team / Photo credit: Nas Academy

Apo Whang-Od, who is known as one of the oldest traditional tattoo artists from the Philippines’ Kalinga tribe, was listed as one of the experts on the Nas Academy platform. Before it was taken down, a course page on the company’s website said that Whang-Od would “reveal all the rituals, tools, and methods for making traditional tattoos.”

However, in a Facebook post on August 4, Whang-Od’s grandniece Grace Palicas called the course a “scam,” claiming that the tattoo expert “did not sign any contract” with Yassin’s firm for giving any lessons. “Some people are taking advantage of our culture. Please help us stop this disrespect to the legacy of Apo Whang-Od and the Butbot Tribe,” Palicas wrote.

The following day, Nas Academy responded, claiming that some of Whang-Od’s family members, including her niece Estella Palangdao, had helped translate the contents of the contract to the acclaimed artist, who allegedly gave her consent to the project thereafter.

Whang-Od and her family present at the time had “loved this idea” and had worked with the company to build the course, Nas Academy wrote in a Facebook post, which had a video of the contract signing attached. “This is the clearest evidence that it is not a scam and achieved the consent of her and her immediate family.”

The Nas Daily facebook post in response to a Whang-Od relative’s claims that the company is a scam / Source: Nas Daily

Nas Academy was born out of online media firm Nas Daily in February and targets the upskilling and reskilling segment. One of the platform’s major draws is its partnerships with content creators, including Singapore’s taekwondo athlete Ng Ming Wei, who has a course titled “How to crush it on TikTok.”

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Apart from Whang-Od, other Filipinos also have classes on Nas Academy, including television host and broadcaster Jessica Soho and Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray.