THE INDUSTRY SELF-HELP MECHANISM IN THE EVENT OF A PEO MEMBER CLOSING DOWN ITS OPERATIONS IN SINGAPORE

INTRODUCTION

1.     The Association of Private Schools and Colleges Singapore (APSC) has set up a Self-Help Committee (SHC) which role is to look into any APSC members that are facing difficulties in continuing operations due to financial and other reasons. It will also coordinate with other agencies such as SPRING, ICA, STB and CASE whenever necessary.
APSC members, participating in the scheme to receive students, are required to commit to the following obligations:-
  
       (i)        To provide details of all the programs they are interested to open up for placement, such as, the course curriculum and course outline, articulation agreements with foreign institutions, progression pathways, entry requirements and intake schedule;
       (ii)       To accept and place students from Members facing difficulties into     their programs when the need arises. The students will be assigned by the SHC.

HOW THE SHC OPERATES

2.     APSC SHC shall pre-identified a list of private schools and colleges selected from the participating members (schools/colleges not already an APSC member wishing to participate in the scheme shall be invited to become APSC members) that will take in students from schools in difficulties. The list of receiving schools will consist of schools, colleges and institutes that are generally regarded as more reputable and with proper infra-structure and properly accredited programs.  The disciplines and courses that these schools are able to accommodate shall be pre-determined.

3.     As a general rule, a receiving school will only participate in a maximum of two disciplines. The receiving school will have to receive all students of one discipline ‘log, stock and barrel” and is not allowed to pick and choose students in terms of their level of study and their payment status.

4.     Upon receiving information of any impending problem from a school, the President of APSC will activate the SHC. The SHC comprises three APSC members appointed by the APSC Management Committee. These committee members are required to sign a formal non-disclosure form to ensure confidentiality. The primary function of the SHC is to map and match the subjects and courses, and to identify 2 to 3 prospective schools to receive students for each discipline. At least two receiving schools will be identified for each discipline.

5.     The school in distress will have to provide an early warning signal  to the President of APSC by way of submitting a standard form with the following essential details:-
(i)    A summary and break-down of number of students in each discipline and at each different level of studies;
(ii)     The course outline and the subjects taught at each level;
(iii)   A summary of payment details for each different level of studies; and
(iv)   A summary of estimates of financial implications and the impact of receivingthese students under each different discipline.

6.     At the time of activation of the SHC, the President of APSC will inform the relevant government agencies, namely, STB,EDB, SPRING, CASE and ICA, so that all necessary assistance can be secured.

7.     SHC will meet up with prospective receiving schools, under strict confidentiality to assess their readiness to receive students.  Once the receiving schools are secured, the SHC will allocate students of the same discipline to more than one receiving school. The allocation of students by the SHC will be done fairly, with a fair mix of newly arrived and older students, so that the negative financial impact is fairly spread among the receiving schools.

8.     Once agreed by all parties involved, the Receiving Schools will prepare the Letter of Offer and Transfer Form. The problem School will sign the Transfer Forms. At this stage, the relevant government organizations will be kept informed and provided with a list of students to be transferred.

9.    This will be followed by the usual transfer application processes where the necessary transfer forms will be submitted to the banks/insurance company and ICA by the receiving schools.   Upon approval by ICA, a joint statement will be issued to all students and stakeholders. Students are also allowed to opt out of the transfer.
CONCLUSION

10.   Through the above process, it is expected that the students’ interests will be properly taken care off in the event of any potential closure. In this way, there will be less public outcry from students who are affected and parent’s confidence in private education will not be eroded. Also, there will be less negative publicity in the foreign press in the countries from where the students originated.