For those who don't understand Chinese, below is a report from the Chinese Education Ministy on Singapore Schools that have run into trouble and been closed down, lost their accreditation or changed management.
留学预警[2006]2号 (总第29期) 教育部教育涉外监管信息网 2006年6月19日 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 据了解，新加坡私立学校RITZ EVERTON ACADEMY（立富登（商务）学院）已暂时关闭，接受警方调查。为此，我驻新加坡大使馆教育处再次提请欲到新加坡私立学校留学的中国学生注意，在选择学校时，一定要确认所申请的学校是否具有中国大使馆教育处的资格认定或是否取得了新加坡标新局（SPRING）的素质资格认证SQC（SINGAPORE QUALITY CALSS）。 中华人民共和国教育部教育涉外监管信息网 2004年10月20日 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 新加坡哈德福教育集团(HTI Education Group,私立)近日申请破产，我部分自费留学人员的生活及学习受到严重影响。另据了解，哈德福集团所属的Educational & Management Services (EMS), City Training Center (CTC)和Regent Commercial Institute (RCI)等三所私立学校，现已出售给新的业主。 中华人民共和国教育部教育涉外监管信息网 2004年6月1日 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 根据新加坡政府标准、生产力与创新局（SPRING）和经济发展局（EDB）取消私立学校“南洋管理学院（Nanyang Institute of Management）”素质级资格（Singapore Quality Class for Private Education Organizations，简称SQC-PEO），使其不再享有政府对“素质级资格学校”的优惠待遇的决定和新加坡官方披漏的有关信息，我驻新加坡使馆教育处决定从5月26日起取消对“南洋管理学院”招收中国留学生的资格认证（驻新加坡使馆教资认020号）。 据悉，2004年7月1日，IPC CORPORATION LTD正式收购南洋管理学院。8月26日新加坡政府标新局（SPRING）已恢复南洋管理学院素质级资格（SQC）。 留学预警[2005]3号 (总第26 期)教育部教育涉外监管信息网 2005年9月5日 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 新加坡私立学校AIT ACADEMY (中文名：新加坡澳洲理工学院) 和AIT UNICAMPUS宣布，因学校流动资金不足自9月1日起倒闭。这两所学校现有学生900余名，其中中国学生424名。在各方面的积极努力和协调下，学校现有学生将分别由Informatics College、Learning Vision International 和Nanyang Institute of Management 等私立学校接收。 留学预警[2006]5号 (总第32期) 教育部教育涉外监管信息网 2006年12月4日 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 近日，新加坡7所私立学校被新加坡消费者协会取消或暂停消协保证计划资格（CASETRUST）。其中，东方商学院( THE ORIENTAL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS )被新加坡消费者协会取消保证计划资格，新加坡商学院（SINGAPORE INSTITUTE OF COMMERCE）、路易斯·普雷斯顿商学院（LOUIS PRESTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS）、路易斯·普雷斯顿旅游培训中心（LOUIS PRESTON TRAVEL & TOURISM TRAINING CENTER）、新加坡斯坦菲学院（STANSFIELD COLLEGE）、南洋狮城俱乐部（LIONS CLUB OF SINGAPORE NANYANG）、富饶柏教育学校（FROEBEL SCHOOL OF EDUCATION）等6所私立学校被新加坡消费者协会暂停保证计划资格。 据了解，被新加坡消费者协会取消或暂停保证计划资格的学校，将不能再招收外国学生，或须暂停招收外国学生。以上7所私立学校中，被取消保证计划资格的东方商学院( THE ORIENTAL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS )日前已歇业，所有学生已完成学业或转学，其他6所学校正接受进一步调查，目前仍在正常运转，但招收外国留学生的资格已被暂停。
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Froebel Academy in trouble
Students demand certificates from Froebel AcademyBy Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 05 June 2007 2214 hrs
SINGAPORE: It was a scene of confusion and frustration at a private school on Tuesday afternoon. Students of Froebel Academy gathered at the school in Parkmall at Penang Road, demanding their certificates. Apparently, many have yet to receive their certificates despite graduating six months ago.
The following students did not want to give their names to Channel NewsAsia but agreed to be interviewed. "I just want to upgrade myself, so I pay the money to make myself better. I work very hard to make to make the money right? Now the money I cannot get back and now I cannot get the cert. It has made us very sad," says one angry student. "Now the issue is that as a person who pays for anything I have the right to know what is happening," says a relative of one student.
There was also silence also from the school's elusive principal, who told Channel NewsAsia she was too busy to field questions. However the students stood their ground, leaving the sole school administrator no choice but to arrange a hurried meeting which was closed to the media.
After the meeting, the students were told they would receive their certificates on Friday. Some students are also unhappy they are not going to get a stamp from the East China Normal University. They claim the school told them their certificates would have a stamp if they paid S$7,500. But the school is denying this. Students say without this stamp, their certificate will be useless when they look for jobs in China. "$7,500…but now she says only this school’s chop…it's no use for us and she says that she wants to close after this year so we have no use for the certificate," says a student.
And students were not the only ones affected. One teacher claims the school owes her S$20,000 in unpaid wages. A school administrator told reporters that some of the ex-staff members had absconded with the school's funds recently but refused to give any other details. Some of the courses offered by Froebel Academy are accredited by the Ministry of Education and the Community Development, Youth and Sports Ministry. The school has also received its CASE TRUST status. - CNA/yy
SINGAPORE: It was a scene of confusion and frustration at a private school on Tuesday afternoon. Students of Froebel Academy gathered at the school in Parkmall at Penang Road, demanding their certificates. Apparently, many have yet to receive their certificates despite graduating six months ago.
The following students did not want to give their names to Channel NewsAsia but agreed to be interviewed. "I just want to upgrade myself, so I pay the money to make myself better. I work very hard to make to make the money right? Now the money I cannot get back and now I cannot get the cert. It has made us very sad," says one angry student. "Now the issue is that as a person who pays for anything I have the right to know what is happening," says a relative of one student.
There was also silence also from the school's elusive principal, who told Channel NewsAsia she was too busy to field questions. However the students stood their ground, leaving the sole school administrator no choice but to arrange a hurried meeting which was closed to the media.
After the meeting, the students were told they would receive their certificates on Friday. Some students are also unhappy they are not going to get a stamp from the East China Normal University. They claim the school told them their certificates would have a stamp if they paid S$7,500. But the school is denying this. Students say without this stamp, their certificate will be useless when they look for jobs in China. "$7,500…but now she says only this school’s chop…it's no use for us and she says that she wants to close after this year so we have no use for the certificate," says a student.
And students were not the only ones affected. One teacher claims the school owes her S$20,000 in unpaid wages. A school administrator told reporters that some of the ex-staff members had absconded with the school's funds recently but refused to give any other details. Some of the courses offered by Froebel Academy are accredited by the Ministry of Education and the Community Development, Youth and Sports Ministry. The school has also received its CASE TRUST status. - CNA/yy
Trouble in the industry
SINGAPORE: The University of New South Wales (UNSW) will close its campus in Singapore next month. The announcement came less than two months after its grand opening. The school said it was facing a financial shortfall of $15 million a year due to lower-than-anticipated student enrolment numbers. Its target was 300 students in its first semester. But it only got 148 students, 100 of whom are Singaporeans. If it were to continue building its campus in Changi, it would have to borrow $140 million. The school said both factors led to an unsustainable financial burden and it decided to call it quits in Singapore.
Students have already paid their fees, which range between S$26,000 and S$29,000 a year. UNSW says these students will be offered a place at its home campus in Sydney. There will also be scholarships to help with the cost of travel and accommodation.
UNSW has already invested over S$22 million (A$17.5 million) in its Singapore campus. It was invited by Singapore's Economic Development Board in 2004 to establish what would have been the first private comprehensive university in Singapore. The EDB had said the school was expected to contribute at least $500 million a year to the economy in direct spending. The EDB refuses to reveal how much it invested in the school.
The episode is clearly damaging to Singapore's aim to be a global schoolhouse. But the EDB, which drives the global schoolhouse initiatives, believes it will still reach its target of attracting 150,000 international students by 2015. There are currently 80,000 foreign students in Singapore. Aw Kah Peng, EDB's Assistant Managing Director, said: "The learning point is that we have to continue working very hard. Truly, with every institution, it will be different. With each one, we have to put everything we can to think about all these issues of whether we can make it work, how long it will take for us to make it work, what will it take for us to make it work. We will then have to step forward on that basis."
UNSW says it would have stayed on in Singapore if it has been allowed to scale down its student enrolment numbers to 2,000 students by 2012. But this would be quite far from the original bargain with the EDB which had set a target of 15,000 UNSW students by 2020.
The UNSW closure does not mean that the EDB will no longer work with the school. The EDB says there are many areas of cooperation between UNSW and Singapore which are mutually beneficial. These include foundation schooling for university entry, research collaborations, University of New South Wales school competitions and joint programmes with Singapore institutions. EDB says it will continue to pursue these areas and strengthen its relationship with UNSW. - CNA/ir
Students have already paid their fees, which range between S$26,000 and S$29,000 a year. UNSW says these students will be offered a place at its home campus in Sydney. There will also be scholarships to help with the cost of travel and accommodation.
UNSW has already invested over S$22 million (A$17.5 million) in its Singapore campus. It was invited by Singapore's Economic Development Board in 2004 to establish what would have been the first private comprehensive university in Singapore. The EDB had said the school was expected to contribute at least $500 million a year to the economy in direct spending. The EDB refuses to reveal how much it invested in the school.
The episode is clearly damaging to Singapore's aim to be a global schoolhouse. But the EDB, which drives the global schoolhouse initiatives, believes it will still reach its target of attracting 150,000 international students by 2015. There are currently 80,000 foreign students in Singapore. Aw Kah Peng, EDB's Assistant Managing Director, said: "The learning point is that we have to continue working very hard. Truly, with every institution, it will be different. With each one, we have to put everything we can to think about all these issues of whether we can make it work, how long it will take for us to make it work, what will it take for us to make it work. We will then have to step forward on that basis."
UNSW says it would have stayed on in Singapore if it has been allowed to scale down its student enrolment numbers to 2,000 students by 2012. But this would be quite far from the original bargain with the EDB which had set a target of 15,000 UNSW students by 2020.
The UNSW closure does not mean that the EDB will no longer work with the school. The EDB says there are many areas of cooperation between UNSW and Singapore which are mutually beneficial. These include foundation schooling for university entry, research collaborations, University of New South Wales school competitions and joint programmes with Singapore institutions. EDB says it will continue to pursue these areas and strengthen its relationship with UNSW. - CNA/ir
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