Tough but Good

Singapore has been hard hit for the past couple of years by private schools which suddenly closed down, leaving angry students in their wake. Usually these students have no recourse to either continue their courses or getting a refund on their school fees.

The most recent case was the School of Applied Studies. The small private school closed suddenly due to financial difficulties and their three hundred students were left stranded despite paying between S$13,500 for a diploma to S$36,000 for a degree.

To raise standards in the private education sector, the Singapore government has put in place the Private Education Bill. However in a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, industry players says the new bill is so tough that about half of the 1,000 private schools in Singapore may have to close down. Under the new and tougher Private Education Bill, private schools need to register under the new framework if they wish to continue their operations and about half of the private schools will be unable to do so.

You know what I say to this: “Good!”

Personally I have little sympathy for the administrators of the private schools. There had been far too many cases of schools closing down suddenly, leaving students in trouble. Since the schools had closed, it is almost impossible for the students to get their money back. If the Private Education Bill can stop these incidents from happening, I’m all for it. I’ll leave my sympathy for the students.