Under the new and tougher Private Education Bill – set up to raise standards in the sector – schools wanting to continue their operations have to register under the new framework by next June.
So far, 195 schools have been successfully registered while 115 others are currently undergoing evaluation, reported The Straits Times (ST), citing figures provided by the CPE.
The CPE told ST it estimates another 150 will register, leaving some 540 schools that are not expected to do so.
To make the cut, schools are obliged to meet a list of criteria, including having proper systems, providing information on their finances, teachers and facilities and ensuring that the foreign institutions they par up with are up to mark.
The licences are valid for between one and six years.
Industry players told ST the shrinking sector is a natural result of the tightening of standards. While some suggested smaller schools merge with others, bigger industry players said they are wary of doing so.
The private education sector is one which has been plagued by complaints from students and their parents, as well as sudden school closures.
Most recently, three hundred students were left stranded after a small private school, the School of Applied Studies, closed suddenly because of financial difficulties. They included 80 foreigners who had paid fees ranging from S$13,500 for a diploma to S$36,000 for a degree.
According to Today, the Marketing Institute of Singapore Training Centre (MISTC) is offering these students from the English Language and business programmes assimilation into its related programmes at no extra cost.
Currently, 46 schools have also attained the EduTrust mark, reported ST. SAS was not one of them as it did not meet requirement for certification. Read more at http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/10/22/private-schools-sudden-closure-sparks-concern/
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