FURTHER EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE In 2000 the Compulsory Education Act codified compulsory education for children of primary school age, and made it a criminal offence for parents to fail to enroll their children in school and ensure their regular attendance. Compulsory Education (CE) was implemented in Singapore in 2003 for children born between 2 January 1996 and 1 January 1997 who are residing in Singapore. The Ministry of Education (Singapore) (http://www.moe.gov.sg/) formulates and implements the policies related to education in Singapore and has developed a world- leading education system comprising the following levels: Pre-School; Primary; Secondary; Pre-University; and Post-Secondary. In the recent Global Competitiveness Report Singapore was ranked first in the world for the quality of its educational system (http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2010-11.pdf). 1. Pre-University Education Upon completion of secondary school education, students will participate in the annual Singaporean GCE 'O' Level, the results of which determine which pre- universities or post-secondary institutions they may apply for. Pre-university centres include junior colleges for a two-year course leading up to GCE 'A' Level, or the Millennia Institute for a three-year course leading up to GCE 'A' Level. Both junior colleges and the Millennia Institute accept students on merit, with a greater emphasis on academics than professional technical education. Students who wish to pursue a professional-centred diploma education go on instead to post-secondary institutions such as the polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). 1.1 Pre-University centres The pre-university centres of Singapore are designed for upper-stream students (roughly about 20%-25% of those going into further education) who wish to pursue a university degree after two to three years of pre-university education, rather than stopping after polytechnic post-secondary education. There are 18 Junior Colleges (JCs) and a Centralised Institute (CI), the Millennia Institute (MI, established 2004), with the National Junior College (NJC, established 1969) being the oldest and Innova Junior College (IJC, established 2005) the newest. 1.1.1 Junior College Junior colleges in Singapore were designed to offer an accelerated alternative to the traditional three-year programme, but the two-year programme they offer has become the norm for students pursuing university education. JCs have also become synonymous with prestigious education. bir_corp\1674618\1 1 16 May 2011 saunden 1.1.2 Centralised Institute A Centralised Institute provides a three-year course leading up to a GCE "A" level examination. There were originally four Centralized Institutes: Outram Institute, Townsville Institute, Jurong Institute and Seletar Institute. There currently remains only one Centralised Institute in Singapore, the Millennia Institute, which was formed following the merger of Jurong and Outram Institutes. Additionally, only Centralised Institutes offer the Commerce Stream, offering subjects such as Principles of Accounting and Management of Business. The standard of teaching and curriculum is identical to that of the Junior Colleges 1.2 Polytechnics Polytechnics in Singapore provide 3-year diploma courses and, they accept students based on their GCE "O" level, GCE "A" level or Institute of Technical Education (ITE) (see below) results. Polytechnics offer a wide range of courses in various fields, including engineering, business studies, accountancy, tourism and hospitality management, mass communications, digital media and biotechnology. There are also specialised courses such as marine engineering, nautical studies, nursing, and optometry. They provide a more industry-oriented education as an alternative to junior colleges for post-secondary studies. About 40% of each Secondary 4 cohort would enrol in Polytechnics 1.3 Institute of Technical Education The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) accepts students based on their GCE "O" level or GCE "N" level results and they provide 2-year courses leading to a locally recognised "National ITE Certificate." There are 10 ITE Colleges in Singapore. A few ITE graduates continue their education at polytechnics and universities. ITE students are sometimes seen as being less capable and possibly less successful than polytechnic or JC students. 1.4 Singapore Institute of Technology The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) was set up in 2009 to form partnerships with reputable foreign universities to offer their degree programmes as an additional pathway for polytechnic students to obtain a government- subsidised university education in Singapore. SIT’s current partners include the Culinary Institute of America, Digipen Institute of Technology, Newcastle University, Technical University of Munich and University of Nevada, Las Vegas. More partners and programmes to expand its offerings to students are in the pipeline. bir_corp\1674618\1 2 16 May 2011 saunden 2. Establishing a Further Education Establishment in Singapore Prospective private education operators must register their interest on the Online Business Licensing Service via the Ministry of Education (Singapore) website (http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/private-education/school-registration/). To be registered the prospective private education operator must fulfil the requirements as laid out in the School Registration Notes for the setting up and registration of private establishments. These registration notes can be found be accessing the above website. bir_corp\1674618\1 3 16 May 2011 saunden HIGHER EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE Types of Higher education providers Universities Singapore’s publicly-funded autonomous universities offer full time Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degree programmes. SIM University, a private comprehensive institution, offers publicly-subsidized part-time degree programmes for adult learners and working professionals. UK Universities with international campuses in Singapore include the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC) and Queen Margaret University. Both institutions are joint ventures with private education providers in Singapore. There are numerous other private universities with international campuses in Singapore including the University of Newcastle, INSEAD, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the German Institute of Science and Technology - TUM Asia, and others. National Institute of Education An autonomous part of Nanyang Technological University that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in Education Polytechnics Polytechnic institutions were set up with the mission to train middle-level professionals to support the technological and economic development of Singapore. Polytechnics offer three year diploma courses in vocational fields. Polytechnic graduates may go on pursue their undergraduate degrees at universities Institute of Technical Education The Institute of Technical Education offers certificate programmes consisting of up to two years in a variety of areas. The primary role of ITE is to ensure that its graduates have the technical knowledge and skills that are relevant to industry. LASALLE College of the Arts and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Private institutions providing post-secondary education in the arts. Current Situation There are currently three public Universities, five Polytechnics, one Institute of Technical Education (ITE), one national Institute of Education (autonomous part of Nanyang Technological University), the LASALLE College of the Arts and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore. There is also one comprehensive private university and a number of private foreign universities have branch campuses in Singapore. Newly publicly-funded institutions in Singapore include the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and the Singapore Institute of Technology. Students Singapore’s higher education institutions currently enroll approximately 157,000 students. Approximately 34% of students are enrolled in universities, 47% are enrolled in Polytechnics, 16% are enrolled in the ITE, and 3% of students are enrolled in the two art institutions. bir_corp\1674618\1 4 16 May 2011 saunden Tuition fees for Singaporean citizens can range from S$2100 for Polytechnics to possibly as high as S$18,960 for dentistry and medicine at a university. Permanent residents pay about 10% higher tuition fees than citizens and international students can have to pay tuition fees that are 50% higher. Responsibility for higher education in Singapore The higher education division of the Ministry of Education (MOE) of Singapore oversees the provision of tertiary and technical education in Singapore as well as the registration of private schools (including foreign providers) in Singapore. The law regulating the private education sector in Singapore experienced a radical overhaul with the introduction of the Private Education Act 2009. It was passed by the Singapore Parliament in September 2009 and the new rules substitute those of the previously governing Education Act. The Private Education Act regulates the providers of “private education”. Under the Act, a “private education institution” is defined as (a) any person that offers to provide or provides private education, whether or not the person offers to provide or provides the private education (i) for profit; (ii) together with other education; or (iii) by itself or in association or collaboration with or by affiliation with any other person; and (b) such