Govt issues fee protection for private school students

In light of various private school fiascos, the Council for Private Education will make fee protection options available to private education institutions under the new regulatory regime.

Due to feedback gathered from public consultation exercises and dialogues with stakeholders, MOE statutory body CPE has refined the Enhanced Registration Framework to incorporate fee protection options for all private education institutions registered under the new framework. With this move, students enrolled in CPE-registered PEIs could benefit from protection of fees as a contingency against school closure.

The new regime will be launched on 21 December 2009.

Under the refined Enhanced Registration Framework, PEIs are given the option to either limit their collection of fees to a maximum of two months or purchase fee insurance protection for their students under an industry-wide group insurance scheme. For PEIs that choose the second option, they will be allowed to collect fees up to a maximum of six months, and will be required to show proof of their participation in the common insurance pool to the CPE during the registration process in order to be registered.

In the event of a school closure, the industry insurance scheme will ensure that affected students would be able to receive an insurance payout. However, the payout will not be equivalent to school fees paid either as the payout amount will be dependent on the portion of school fees consumed.

In such cases, the CPE proposes to work closely with industry associations to place the affected students in another course in another PEI.

Mr S. Iswaran, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Education, said, “Student welfare is a key consideration in our efforts to uplift the private education sector with the new regulatory regime. The establishment of industry-wide insurance is a significant enhancement which will provide an additional safety net for students, over and above legislative provisions under the Private Education Act. As we take steps to enhance our private education sector, we need the support and collective ownership of all stakeholders - industry players, students and parents - to make the learning experience in Singapore an attractive and enriching one.”

However, the CPE also warns students to be discerning and carry out tgeir own due diligence despite the new regime. It warns that even with the enhanced refinements, regulatory infringements or school closures cannot be averted.