Speeches
FY 2008 Committee of Supply Debate: 3rd Reply by Minister of State Mr Gan Kim Yong on Regulation of the Private Education Sector and Continuing Education and Training
Building a Quality Private Education Sector
Introduction
The Government recently launched a ten-year Continuing Education and Training or CET Masterplan. Under the Masterplan, we will work with our post-secondary educational institutions and credible private players to establish a number of high-quality CET institutes to support our manpower needs. The Ministry of Manpower, with MOE’s support, is planning to quadruple CET capacity within just two years, from training 22,000 workers last year, to 80,000 workers by 2009.
In line with our efforts to encourage life-long learning, MOE announced last year that the Government would subsidise part-time Advanced Diploma and Specialist Diploma programmes in the polytechnics, which are aimed at adult learners. We have now extended our funding support to part-time degree programmes as announced in the Budget Speech this year. These are significant moves towards our objective of creating a learning nation.
Ensuring Value of Continuing Education & Training
I thank Mrs Josephine Teo for her support for the Government’s efforts to improve accessibility and affordability of CET. I agree with Mrs Teo that it is important for Singaporeans who further their education or training with the aid of Government subsidy to derive meaningful value from the investment. This is particularly so for degree courses, as the cost in terms of time and money is considerably higher. While the Government cannot influence how employers pay CET degree-holders, as this is really up to the market to decide, there are two things the Government can do and has done so as to ensure that our part-time degree programmes will add value to the students.
The first is to ensure that the programmes we subsidise are of good quality. This is why MOE is making funding support available only for part-time degree programmes in the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore Management University (SMU) and SIM University (UniSIM). We have selected institutions of high repute, which we are confident will continue to uphold their standards and requirements pertaining to admission, progression and completion. MOE has established a Quality Assurance Framework for NUS, NTU and SMU. UniSIM is the only private institution to date that MOE has assessed as being of sufficient quality to be accorded university status and to award degrees in its own name. With the Government now funding its programmes, MOE will put in place a process to ensure that UniSIM upholds the quality of its publicly-funded degree programmes.
Second, we will continue to monitor industry and economic trends, and provide the information to workers who wish to upgrade themselves. MOM recently launched the Career Compass 2008, which can be downloaded from MOM’s website. Career Compass provides students with a better understanding of opportunities in the job market. It covers industry and manpower trends, as well as occupational information such as skills needed, employment conditions and wages. MOE will work with NUS, NTU, SMU and UniSIM to track their CET students’ progress after graduation. This will enable the universities to further improve their part-time degree programmes.
In addition, the universities themselves provide counselling and advice to potential applicants. NUS and NTU conduct pre-application briefing sessions as part of their admissions exercises for part-time degree programmes. These sessions can help to address students’ questions about industry demand and the relevance of the degree programmes. UniSIM also organises regular Open House events to advise potential applicants on the appropriate choice of part-time degree programmes, depending on the applicants’ employment background and career aspirations.
Also, as I mentioned earlier, the universities have stringent admission, progression and completion criteria. This ensures that only students who can benefit from a part-time degree education are admitted, and are allowed to continue and eventually graduate. These measures on the part of the universities help guide workers with different aspirations and aptitudes to choose the appropriate CET options for their career development.
Value of Different Degress
Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim raised the concern that some who enrol in degree programmes may later on find that their degrees are not well-regarded by employers or by local universities for the purpose of postgraduate studies.
MOE-registered private schools are allowed to offer external degrees awarded by bona fide universities which are recognised in their home countries. It is in the interest of these universities to ensure that the schools offering external degrees bearing their names are of acceptable quality to protect their own standing and reputation. As these foreign universities are recognised by their own Governments, MOE does not grant any further recognition or accreditation for their degrees. However, even among these bona fide universities, there are wide variations in reputation and standing. If an external degree programme has undemanding admission and coursework requirements, it should come as no surprise that its value to the students is correspondingly low.
I can understand students’ desire to obtain a degree. However, I would urge them to be selective and find out more about the programmes and the institutions before making a commitment. They should consider carefully the rigour of the programmes and the track record of the institutions offering the programmes to ensure that they will benefit from these programmes.
MOE is not in a position to influence employers on the recognition of qualifications, as each individual employer has its own requirements and criteria. Employers will determine which qualifications are most relevant to their needs, and how much value to accord to different qualifications. The assessment of a job applicant will also take into account his or her own ability and aptitude, not just academic qualifications.
As for admission to postgraduate degree programmes, the local universities will consider all applicants who meet the eligibility criteria. NUS, NTU and SMU do not rule out degrees from any bona fide foreign universities. The universities will undertake a holistic assessment of the applicants’ aptitude and suitability for postgraduate studies. They consider applicants’ transcripts, recommendation letters, personal statements of academic and career objectives, standardised test scores such as GRE and GMAT, and work experience, where relevant.
Evolving Private Education Landscape
Sir, let me now move on to the issue of strengthening Singapore as an education hub. I would like to thank Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, Mr Lim Biow Chuan, Dr Ong Seh Hong, Dr Amy Khor, Dr Lily Neo and Mr Teo Ser Luck for their comments and suggestions on the regulation of private schools. I agree with the general thrust of their views and I will address their well motivated questions.
Let me first set the context. The private education landscape in Singapore has evolved rapidly over the years. The number of private schools registered with MOE has grown exponentially. It doubled in the ten years between 1987 and 1997, from 150 to 305. It then quadrupled in the next ten years between 1997 and 2007, from 305 to 1,200 private schools. The number of full-time foreign students enrolled in private schools also grew four-fold from 9,000 in 1997 to 37,000 last year.
With such rapid growth in numbers, it is inevitable that private schools’ standards differ considerably. The problem of students affected by lower standard schools has also grown more acute. In the last two years, a number of private schools have closed down, leaving many students, mainly foreign students, stranded. This has tarnished the Singapore Education brand.
Given the significant evolution of the landscape, we need to adapt our approach to meet the changing circumstances.
Developing Singapore as a Global Education Hub
Over the years, Singapore has forged a reputation for excellence in its public education system. Students from all over the world are attracted to Singapore on the strength of our mainstream schools and world-class tertiary institutions. To strengthen Singapore’s position as a global education hub, the private education industry should further develop to compete on quality, rather than faster time or ease of obtaining a degree.
MOE announced during the last COS that we would study the issue and explore ways to enhance regulation of the sector. After considering various options, we have decided on a three-pronged approach to enhance regulation and improve standards over time. Firstly, MOE will set up an agency that brings together the right expertise so as to provide greater focus on the industry and effectively implement the regulatory framework. Secondly, to ensure basic threshold quality standards in private schools, we will strengthen the existing registration framework and enhance its enforcement. Thirdly, we will introduce a quality certification scheme to allow better private schools to differentiate themselves, as well as to enable students to make informed choices. I will address each of these measures in turn.
Council for Private Education
Firstly, MOE has considered if it is best placed to perform the regulatory function for the private education sector. After all, MOE’s core focus and expertise still lies in the mainstream school system and the publicly-funded education sector.
The private education industry is a highly diverse one. Private schools offer a wide range of programmes at all levels, in myriad subjects and for various purposes including enrichment, full-time study and continuing education. The regulatory body should have the right expertise so that it can effectively address the regulatory needs of a wide spectrum of operators.
After careful consideration, MOE has decided to establish an independent Council for Private Education to oversee the regulatory framework for the private education sector. The Council will also promote best practices in the sector.
The Council will be chaired by Mr Lin Cheng Ton, who was the former Principal and CEO of Nanyang Polytechnic. Mr Lin needs no introduction among Singapore educationists and business leaders. Under his visionary leadership, Nanyang Polytechnic was the first educational institution to attain quality awards such as ISO 14001, Singapore Quality Class, and Singapore Innovation Class. Mr Lin was the architect of a distinctive pedagogical model that has been emulated widely in regional tertiary institutions, including China.
The Council members will be drawn from highly-regarded individuals with expertise in education, quality assurance and business. Government agencies involved in developing Singapore as an education hub, including the Economic Development Board and Singapore Tourism Board, will be represented. The Consumer Association of Singapore or CASE will also be represented.
MOE will remain responsible for setting policies for the private education sector, but it will empower the Council, with its specialised expertise, to decide on all applications for registration and quality certification. The Council will also direct investigative and enforcement actions to be taken against errant private schools, where appropriate.
Enhanced Registration
Secondly, we will enhance the registration framework. Under the existing Education Act, private schools are required to obtain one-off registration with MOE before they are allowed to operate. Going forward, MOE intends to impose a validity period for registration by the Council and make it renewable, subject to certain requirements. This regular renewal process rather than a one-off registration will encourage private schools to consistently maintain their standards.
We will also strengthen our capability in enforcement of the registration requirements. Currently, a private school can only be de-registered and only under extreme circumstances. To better deal with schools that violate the conditions of registration, MOE will introduce graduated penalties, including fines, for errant private education providers. This will allow the Council to impose penalties that are in proportion to the severity of the offences. It will serve as useful deterrence against poor standards or behaviours, while giving errant schools opportunities to rectify their violations.
“EduTrust” Quality Certification Scheme
The third component of the enhanced regulatory framework is a quality certification scheme called Edutrust to incentivise private schools to raise their standards and to enable students to distinguish the better quality players.
EduTrust will build on the improvements in standards that have been achieved through CASE’s CaseTrust for Education scheme. CaseTrust for Education focuses mainly on protection of fees paid by students. EduTrust will introduce new requirements over and above those required under CaseTrust, including minimum standards of academic processes. After EduTrust is implemented, CASE will cease to offer CaseTrust for Education.
Under Edutrust, private schools will be required to satisfy certain academic, financial and student welfare requirements. Examples of academic requirements include having qualified academic supervisors and teachers, as well as well-defined structures for programme development, assessment, progression and performance review.
EduTrust-certified private schools will also have to demonstrate their financial capacity. Private schools that are unable to demonstrate adequate financial capacity will be required to make precautionary arrangements for their students to transfer to equivalent courses in other schools, at no extra cost to the students. These arrangements will only be effected in the event of the school’s closure to ensure that students can continue their studies.
In terms of student welfare, EduTrust-certified private schools must protect students’ fees by depositing fees into an escrow account or purchasing student insurance. They will also be required to have clear fee and refund policies, effective complaint resolution procedures and adequate student counselling and support services.
Industry players can choose whether or when to be certified, according to their own assessment of readiness and their choice of business model. However, as with the existing CaseTrust, EduTrust will be mandatory for private schools that wish to enrol foreign students.
That said, it is important to understand that risk cannot be completely eliminated. It can only be mitigated. Neither enhanced registration nor EduTrust can guarantee total student satisfaction, completely avert school closures or prevent regulatory infringements. What we can do is to reduce the likelihood of closures and violations.
The introduction of EduTrust will allow private school operators to differentiate themselves and enable students to choose better-quality schools, which in turn will provide some protection against adverse developments. By stepping up enforcement, private school operators will be more mindful of their statutory obligations and take positive steps to constantly improve themselves.
However, I must stress that ultimately, students themselves must exercise care in making a decision to study in a private school. They must find out more about the institutions and the courses they intend to pursue, understand the risks involved, especially when choosing the less established schools, and take the necessary precautions to protect their interests.
Implementation
To establish the Council for Private Education and to enhance the registration system as I have outlined, new legislation will have to be introduced. MOE will be drafting a new Private Education Bill for this purpose.
The Bill will establish the independent Council for Private Education and empower it with effective regulatory and enforcement powers. The Council will be the approving authority for registration of private education operators and will administer the EduTrust certification scheme to incentivise private schools to improve their quality. To support the Council in carrying out its role, MOE will increase our capacity to inspect, monitor and investigate private schools.
The new Bill will enhance and clearly spell out private schools’ statutory requirements to meet baseline standards required for registration. It will make registration renewable, clearly stipulate what constitutes offences, and provide for graduated penalties for different offences.
MOE aims to introduce the Private Education Bill in Parliament by the end of this year. The EduTrust scheme will be launched by the Council for Private Education in early 2009. We will consult the public and industry stakeholders before finalising the Bill and the implementation details of EduTrust.
To assist private schools to transit smoothly to the enhanced regulatory framework, MOE will allow for a transition period and work closely with industry associations.
Conclusion
Sir, to sum up, the enhancements to the regulatory framework will better protect the interest of students. In consultation sessions with private school operators, we also found that students are not the only ones who welcome tighter regulation. Genuine and serious private school operators, too, collectively incur reputational damage whenever there are negative incidents that tarnish the Singapore Education brand.
The approach of tightening the mandatory registration system, stepping up enforcement and introducing quality certification is a balanced approach that will seek to ensure a baseline of quality in the industry while preserving a marketplace that allows for student choice.
Over the next few years, MOE and the Council will focus on the effective implementation of the enhanced regulatory framework, ensuring baseline standards across the board and incentivising private schools to improve their standards.
To succeed in developing Singapore into a Global Education Hub, a strong regulatory framework alone is not sufficient. We need the support and collective ownership of all stakeholders, including the private education operators as well as the students. Private schools must realise the need to constantly upgrade themselves to meet the increasingly competitive international landscape and the rising expectations of students. Students themselves must be more discerning and selective in deciding on their educational pathways. They should carefully assess the choices available and be especially cautious about organisations promising degrees in short duration, with minimal admission requirements and less rigorous coursework. Only when we work together, can we keep the learning experience in Singapore an attractive and enriching one.