Committee for Private Education (CPE) has been set up by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to oversee the implementation of a new regulatory regime for the private education sector. It seeks to strike a balance between ensuring that a reasonable level of educational standard is maintained by private schools, and providing incentives for them to upgrade and set higher standards of educational excellence. The new regulatory regime clearly spells out the obligations and requirements of private schools through its mandatory Enhanced Registration Framework, and will also comprise a voluntary quality assurance scheme called EduTrust.

Mandatory Enhanced Registration Framework

• The Enhanced Registration Framework (ERF), as set out under the Private Education Act and the Private Education Regulations, spells out the mandatory registration requirements and legislative obligations which all private education institutions, operating in and from Singapore, must meet.


• It is administered by the Committee for Private Education.


• The Enhanced Registration Framework aims to ensure that private education institutions in Singapore are of a certain acceptable standard to protect the interests of the students enrolled in their schools.

The Enhanced Registration Framework aims to ensure that private education institutions in Singapore are of a certain acceptable standard to protect the interests of the students enrolled in their schools and also seeks to address existing industry problems relating to poor administration, misrepresentation and even ‘selling’ of qualifications.

(Source: www.ssg.gov.sg/cpe/)

EduTrust

• The EduTrust Certification scheme involves a more stringent assessment process, which looks at academic quality, student welfare, soundness of finances and school administration of the Private Education Institutions (PEIs) in Singapore.


• The Private Education Act will cover Private Education Institutions (PEIs) that fall under three broad categories:
  
  • Those offering degree, diploma or full-time certification programmes at the post-secondary level;
  
  
  • Those offering full-time preparatory courses for the purpose of preparing students for entrance/ placement tests for joining our mainstream schools, or for external examinations; and
  
  
  • Foreign System Schools (FSS).

Under the Private Education Act, 2009, Private Education Institutions offering the following programmes are required to register with the Committee for Private Education under the mandatory Enhanced Registration Framework (ERF):

• Degree, diploma or full-time certification programmes at the post-secondary level;


• Full-time primary or secondary education wholly or substantially, in accordance with an international curriculum;


• Full-time preparatory courses for the purpose of preparing students for entrance/placement tests for joining Singapore’s mainstream schools, or for external examinations;


• Full-time special education for students with physical or intellectual disabilities, where the private-funded education institution conducting the programme has not been extended a subvention by the Government.