By Mavis Toh

The recession has taken a toll on private schools, two of which folded recently, leaving students in the lurch.
Meanwhile, several private schools - especially the more established ones - are acting to recruit more aggressively in these tough times.

Eleven private schools, unable to attract enough students in the downturn, have shut down in the past year, the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) said.

And in the last month, two private language schools, Goro Global School and Britannia School of Education, shut down, leaving students high and dry, and demanding refunds on their fees.

Of the 10 private schools The Sunday Times spoke to, six said their enrolment numbers have been hit in recent months due to the downturn.

The intake of foreign students, who form the bulk of some private schools, has been declining.

The Marketing Institute of Singapore (MIS) has over the past two weeks seen a 50 per cent drop in foreign student recruitment, especially students from China.

The school is working with its agents to step up promotional efforts overseas.

At the Bradford-Rex School of Hospitality and Management, staff now travel up to twice monthly to education fairs overseas.

'Previously, students walked in. Now we have to go out and do more promotions,' said its administrative director Joyce Fashanu.

Smaller private schools The Sunday Times spoke to said they were hit hard. Some saw enrolments slashed by up to 30 per cent recently.

Moreover, in such times, students tend to park their money with the bigger schools, afraid that the smaller ones might go bust.

Many are bracing themselves for the impact from the two recent sudden closures.

'International students worry when they hear such news,' said Mr Simon Teo, principal of Inspire Business School. 'Especially in a recession, they'll think hard before putting down money.'

At the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), one of the largest private schools here, enrolments have not been affected.

But the school expects the impact to be felt in the next six months. 'We think the crisis will go deeper after June and there will be more retrenchments in the region,' said secretary-general R. Theyvendran.

The school is working on a scheme for students to defer their courses should they face difficulties from the downturn. Scholarships and bursaries will also be rolled out.

Mr Teo may lower tuition fees by up to 30 per cent to attract more students.

At Stansfield College, chairman Kannappan Chettiar said that while numbers have not been affected, instalment plans are in the works. Student-pass fees have also been lowered from $800 to $300, to help students cope.

'We also make sure we pay overseas agents faster, and give them top priority so foreign student intake won't be affected,' he said.

But looking at past crises, he believes his group will still do relatively well as people do not tend to scrimp on education, even in a recession.

Informatics Education's managing director Alan Phua agreed: 'The education services sector tends to be counter-cyclical and the current downturn may lead to improved demand and good business opportunities.'

He said Informatics has not been affected by the downturn, adding that Singapore is still a draw for foreign students because of its lower costs compared to some Western countries.

Many of the private schools look forward to the Private Education Bill, to be introduced in Parliament later this year, which will help to weed out errant players and improve Singapore's reputation as an education hub.

Complaints lodged with Case against the education sector rose from 1,130 in 2006 to 1,368 last year. Most referred to misrepresentation, failure to honour promises and unsatisfactory services.

If the Bill is passed, an independent council will facilitate self-

regulation by the industry and provide more information about the quality of programmes and degrees offered by private schools here.

An EduTrust certification, to replace the current CaseTrust for Education mark, will make the schools accountable for maintaining standards of student welfare and academic standards.

The Bill will also give the council more teeth to impose fines and penalties on substandard schools.

Many schools say the Bill is long overdue.

Currently, under the Student Protection Scheme, schools have to deposit their students' fees into a separate bank account, which will release the money in instalments to the schools until the course is completed.

Alternatively, schools can buy an insurance policy so that students are assured of getting back the remainder of their tuition fees should a school close down.

Pointing to a key weakness, Dr Theyvendran said: 'The scheme protects students only financially; what we need to worry about now is academic quality.'

Also, not all schools have played by the rules of the current scheme. In the last six months, Case has issued 13 warnings to schools which failed to give fee protection to students.

To date, seven schools have been expelled from the accreditation scheme, which means they can no longer recruit foreign students.

In the two recent closures, of the 10 students from Goro who filed complaints with Case, only five had proof of insurance. All four students from Britannia who filed complaints were not issued insurance certificates.

'We're already facing stiff competition and the recession,' said Dr Theyvendran. 'I hope the new Act can stop errant schools from spoiling Singapore's aim of becoming an education hub.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.