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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4></TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>25523.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Notice that when the cum out with this policy, they tot of FTs first before Singaporeans... We Singaporeans are an afterthought in the eyes of PAP... very sad....
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Dec 8, 2009
Fee protection for all private students
Scheme extended to cover Singapore students as well
<!-- by line -->By Leow Si Wan & Amelia Tan
SINGAPORE students who enrol in private schools here will get some of their money back should their schools go under - the same protection that is now given to foreign students.
Instead of having to pay course fees in full in advance - as required by most schools now - all students will either have to pay the school every two months, or pay up to six months' worth of fees in advance if the school joins an insurance scheme.
The change was announced by the Education Ministry yesterday as it spelt out the registration process for private schools that will be launched on Dec 21.
This fee protection scheme, debated in Parliament in September, was originally intended only for schools which accept foreign students. They were viewed as being more vulnerable to unscrupulous operators out to cheat them by collecting their fees and winding up shortly after.
Yesterday, the Education Ministry said its change of heart was the result of feedback from public consultation exercises and dialogues with stakeholders.
The change will affect the 1,000 plus schools here, ranging from the 20-student Lee Wei Song School of Music, to the PSB Academy with its 10,000 students.
Schools will have to show proof of their participation in the insurance scheme when they register with the Education Ministry, which they need not do currently.
To qualify for a higher quality standard - the EduTrust mark - schools will also be graded on their corporate governance and management responsibilities.
The alternative is for the school to deposit the fees into an escrow account, to be released in instalments to the school until the students have completed their studies.
Fee protection schemes have been in place since 2004, when they were administered by the Consumers Association of Singapore. The premiums paid depended on the school's standing, the course duration and the amount insured.
The drawback of the schemes: they were based on an honour system of having schools declare that their students' fees were insured.
But the closure of schools such as Brookes Business School and Stamford Global Learning Centre, which left students high and dry, showed that checks were needed.
The Education Ministry will step up checks on the schools, and will boost the size of its private education department from nine officers previously to about 50.
When contacted, Madam Halimah Yacob, one of the MPs concerned that local students would not be protected, said the enhancements represented a 'significant improvement' but added that she hoped the Education Ministry would consider making it a requirement for all private schools to open an escrow account with a bank.
Bigger players, such as James Cook University, the Singapore Institute of Management, PSB Academy and TMC Educational Group, say they are prepared to insure their students' fees.
Smaller players, however, worry that new rules will mean higher administrative costs, which will have to be passed to students in the form of higher fees.
Schools have to pay either a flat premium of $1,200, or $12 per student if they have more than 100 students, whichever is higher.
This means students from smaller schools may pay higher premiums, if the school does not absorb them.
Mr Ho Kai Huat, owner of System Computer Training Centre with about 300 students, said: 'We will have to incur more costs and it will be harder to survive in this already competitive industry. I foresee many schools, especially the smaller ones, closing down in the next six months because they cannot bear the costs.'
The change comes too late for some former students of Brookes Business School, who paid around $20,000 each. They are unlikely to get anything back after the school was shut down by the ministry in July for peddling fake degrees.
But it was good news for Ms Melanie Loke, 23, a local student with a place at the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS). She will not have to pay anything more on top of the $30,000 course fee for her accounting degree, as the institute said it plans to absorb the $12 premium.
Dr R. Theyvendran, secretary-general of MDIS, however, wished that the regulations would be flexible to exempt reputable institutions that can meet certain financial criteria.
'We are a big school with a strong reputation and a strong asset base, so having to fork out $12 for each of my 13,500 students will just mean unnecessary costs for us.'
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_________________________________________
Dec 8, 2009
Fee protection for all private students
Scheme extended to cover Singapore students as well
<!-- by line -->By Leow Si Wan & Amelia Tan
SINGAPORE students who enrol in private schools here will get some of their money back should their schools go under - the same protection that is now given to foreign students.
Instead of having to pay course fees in full in advance - as required by most schools now - all students will either have to pay the school every two months, or pay up to six months' worth of fees in advance if the school joins an insurance scheme.
The change was announced by the Education Ministry yesterday as it spelt out the registration process for private schools that will be launched on Dec 21.
This fee protection scheme, debated in Parliament in September, was originally intended only for schools which accept foreign students. They were viewed as being more vulnerable to unscrupulous operators out to cheat them by collecting their fees and winding up shortly after.
Yesterday, the Education Ministry said its change of heart was the result of feedback from public consultation exercises and dialogues with stakeholders.
The change will affect the 1,000 plus schools here, ranging from the 20-student Lee Wei Song School of Music, to the PSB Academy with its 10,000 students.
Schools will have to show proof of their participation in the insurance scheme when they register with the Education Ministry, which they need not do currently.
To qualify for a higher quality standard - the EduTrust mark - schools will also be graded on their corporate governance and management responsibilities.
The alternative is for the school to deposit the fees into an escrow account, to be released in instalments to the school until the students have completed their studies.
Fee protection schemes have been in place since 2004, when they were administered by the Consumers Association of Singapore. The premiums paid depended on the school's standing, the course duration and the amount insured.
The drawback of the schemes: they were based on an honour system of having schools declare that their students' fees were insured.
But the closure of schools such as Brookes Business School and Stamford Global Learning Centre, which left students high and dry, showed that checks were needed.
The Education Ministry will step up checks on the schools, and will boost the size of its private education department from nine officers previously to about 50.
When contacted, Madam Halimah Yacob, one of the MPs concerned that local students would not be protected, said the enhancements represented a 'significant improvement' but added that she hoped the Education Ministry would consider making it a requirement for all private schools to open an escrow account with a bank.
Bigger players, such as James Cook University, the Singapore Institute of Management, PSB Academy and TMC Educational Group, say they are prepared to insure their students' fees.
Smaller players, however, worry that new rules will mean higher administrative costs, which will have to be passed to students in the form of higher fees.
Schools have to pay either a flat premium of $1,200, or $12 per student if they have more than 100 students, whichever is higher.
This means students from smaller schools may pay higher premiums, if the school does not absorb them.
Mr Ho Kai Huat, owner of System Computer Training Centre with about 300 students, said: 'We will have to incur more costs and it will be harder to survive in this already competitive industry. I foresee many schools, especially the smaller ones, closing down in the next six months because they cannot bear the costs.'
The change comes too late for some former students of Brookes Business School, who paid around $20,000 each. They are unlikely to get anything back after the school was shut down by the ministry in July for peddling fake degrees.
But it was good news for Ms Melanie Loke, 23, a local student with a place at the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS). She will not have to pay anything more on top of the $30,000 course fee for her accounting degree, as the institute said it plans to absorb the $12 premium.
Dr R. Theyvendran, secretary-general of MDIS, however, wished that the regulations would be flexible to exempt reputable institutions that can meet certain financial criteria.
'We are a big school with a strong reputation and a strong asset base, so having to fork out $12 for each of my 13,500 students will just mean unnecessary costs for us.'
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