14 April 2000

Home > Media Centre > Press Releases

Printer-friendly page

EDUN N25-02-004 V61
EDUN C08-16-104 V3

02100

14 Apr 2000

A NEW OPTION FOR AIDED SCHOOLS - SCHOOL MANAGEMENT MODEL

The Ministry of Education will offer a new school management model to the School Management Committees (SMC) of government aided schools

Currently aided schools are sited on freehold, leasehold or Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) land, with the title, lease or tenancy agreement held by the SMCs or related mission or clan. Under the new school management model, governance of aided schools will be de-linked from land ownership. SMCs of aided schools which the Ministry of Education has assessed should be retained and upgraded, will be given the option to perform the role of a school manager and a 30-years' governance agreement to run and manage the school. The schools will be built on State land designated as school sites, no different from government schools. If the SMCs choose to take up the school management agreement, they will not need to pay for the land premium. They will continue to pay for 5% of the development costs of standard facilities and 100% of non-standard facilities in the schools.

The following set out the options for existing aided schools under the different categories of land ownership:

a.	Freehold Land: The SMC of an existing aided school on freehold land affected by relocation, if offered the school management model, can choose to either relocate:

	i.	to State land and take up the school management agreement. The SMC will not need to pay any land premium for the new land since they will be operating on State land. As part of the school management agreement, the government will take ownership of the existing school land with reasonable compensation.
	ii.	to another site under the prevailing quid pro quo exchange of land policy. Under this policy, the SMC will be given a 30-year lease for the new land. The SMC will have to pay 100% of the difference in land premium if the new land is more valuable than the existing school land.

Leasehold Land. The SMC of an existing aided school on leasehold land, if offered the school management model, can choose to move to the school management model upon expiry of their lease or renew their lease under existing policies and pay 100% of the land premium. If they choose to move to the school management model before the end of their current lease, or if the school is relocated, the value of the remaining lease will go towards paying for the SMC's share of the building costs and the balance will go to the school building fund.

TOL: Aided schools currently operating on TOL will be offered the school management model, if the schools are retained and not affected by future redevelopment.

If new aided schools are approved to be set up, their SMCs can be offered the school management model as an additional option. The SMCs can also choose to own freehold or leasehold land under prevailing policies.

The Ministry of Education has offered the School Management Committee of Nan Chiau High School, the Singapore Hokien Huay Kuan, the school management model for the relocation of Nan Chiau High. This offer has been accepted and Nan Chiau High School will be relocated to Sengkang in Jan 2001.

A table showing the various options is given in Annex A.

ANNEX A

SUMMARY OF OPTIONS FOR AIDED SCHOOLS WHICH HAVE BEEN
APPROVED FOR RELOCATION OR UPGRADING

Category	NEW SCHOOL MANAGEMENT MODEL
	Land	Payment for Buildings
		Standard	Non-Standard
TOL	SMC to be offered the School Management Model. The school will be built/sited on State land.	SMC: 5% MOE:95%	SMC: 100%
Leasehold Land	If SMC opts not to renew at the end of lease, the land reverts to State land status.
	If SMC opts not to renew before end of lease and take up the school management agreement, the value of the remaining lease paid by SMC will go towards paying for the building costs and the balance to be contributed to the school building fund.
	If relocated by government and the aided school does not wish to own or lease the new land, the value of remaining lease paid by SMC will go towards the new building costs and the balance to be contributed to the school building fund.
	If SMC opts to renew at the end of lease, SMC will pay 100% of the land premium for lease renewal.
Freehold land affected by relocation	If the SMC relocates the school to State land and opts for the school management agreement, the government will take ownership of the existing school land with reasonable compensation.
	If the SMC relocates to another leasehold site under the current quid pro quo land exchange policy, they will pay 100% of the difference in land premium if the new land is more valuable than their existing land.