Parliamentary Replies
Private Education
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Dr Lily Neo, MP for Jalan Besar GRC
Question
To ask the Minister for Education in view of the study undertaken by the Ministry to enhance the regulation and supervision of the private education sector,
- whether he can ascertain how many private schools are offering unrecognised degrees from unaccredited universities;
- how many Singaporeans are in these schools; and
- what plans does the Ministry have to better protect the interest of students in private schools.
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mdm Cynthia Phua, MP for Aljunied GRC
Question
To ask the Minister for Education in light of the recent reports on private schools offering dubious university courses,
- what is the Ministry doing to weed out such school operators;
- will the Ministry take on a stricter role in processing applicants before granting them approval to run a school; and
- whether there is any restriction on schools using the phrase “licensed by MOE” on their collaterals and publicity materials.
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Lim Biow Chuan, MP for Marine Parade GRC
Question
To ask the Minister for Education if he will provide an update on the status on the implementation of the EduTrust Scheme for private education organisations.
Consolidated Response
The current regulatory regime for private education, in place for two decades, is essentially a “light-touch” approach. To be registered, a private school will have to meet basic requirements to have appropriate physical facilities that meet building and fire safety standards. For professional aspects, the requirements are also basic. For example, to teach secondary level subjects, the teacher’s qualification should be at least ‘A’ level or equivalent.
Private education institutions can also choose to register their external degree programmes with MOE. Only registered programmes are allowed to enrol foreign students. To be registered, the university awarding the degree must be either accredited by a national accreditation body in its home country or recognised by its own government. As at end-2007, there were 1,100 registered external degree programmes offered by universities from 20 countries through the private schools. As there exists a wide variety of such registered degrees, across countries and even from within the same country, universities and standards do differ considerably. MOE has been careful therefore to inform the public through various platforms that registration does not represent endorsement or assessment of the quality of the external degree.
Private schools or external degree programme providers do use the label “registered by MOE” but MOE ensures that they cannot substitute registration for any other term that may suggest quality or convey more than what registration stands for.
The current “light-touch” regulatory regime may have been appropriate for a budding private education industry with a few players. However, given the growth of the private education industry in recent years, MOE intends to strengthen the current regulatory framework. This was announced this year during the Committee of Supply debate in March.
As announced, a new Private Education Bill is being drafted for the introduction of an enhanced regulatory framework which will comprise three components: the establishment of an independent Council for Private Education; an enhanced registration regime; and a voluntary certification system called EduTrust for those that meet higher standards.
Under the enhanced registration regime, registration will have a specified validity period. Private schools will be required to provide early notification of changes to the recognition and accreditation status of their foreign university partners. To better deal with private schools that violate conditions of registration, graduated penalties, including fines, would be introduced. Imposing penalties that are in proportion to the severity of the breaches would serve as useful deterrence against poor standards or behaviours, while giving errant schools the opportunity to rectify their violations. Schools that have repeatedly violated conditions will risk being de-registered and not allowed to operate.
One area which we will seek to address more effectively is misrepresentation by private schools in their advertisements and promotional material. We intend to set clearer rules under the new regulatory regime to curb false and misleading advertisement. This will cover the proper use of quality labels, symbols and trademarks by private schools in advertisements and for these schools to refrain from untruthful claims about the school and its courses. The Council will also be given the necessary powers to direct corrective measures if operators publish misleading advertisements.
As a benchmark of higher quality, the EduTrust certification scheme will be introduced. Private schools can apply to be certified, if they can satisfy certain academic, financial and student welfare requirements. This serves as a useful incentive for better quality private schools to differentiate themselves in the market place.
Aside from implementing an effective regulatory framework, the Council will also play a facilitation role to promote a better understanding of the private education sector through consumer awareness and public education programmes. Such efforts aim to help potential students be more discerning about various educational options available and to make informed choices.
These enhancements to the private education regulatory framework will enable Singapore to better position itself as an education hub. For prospective students, it will provide more information about the quality of the provider and degrees offered. MOE intends to move the Bill in 2009, after providing for a sufficient period of consultation with stakeholders.