I WAS sad to read reports in the papers on private schools shutting down with no warning.

Many people send their children to Singapore to study as they trust the country's good name.

I am glad that the Government has announced new rules for private schools.

Stricter policies are needed to protect both Singaporean and foreign students.

Those who invested their money in private schools and were cheated by errant school operators should not be forgotten.

I am one of them.

I wanted to run a course together with a private school, and spent a lot of time discussing my options with one of these institutions.

I invested $50,000 and signed a five-year contract with the school in 2007.

However, I was locked out without warning after seven months.

After this shocking ordeal, I filed a complaint with the help of the Legal Aid Bureau.

The process is still ongoing and I have not received any refund yet.

The lesson I learnt from this bad experience is to be very careful in future and to ensure that money invested in a private school is well spent.

It is school operators like the one I worked with who spoil Singapore's good reputation.

Mr Roy Anil Prasad

For more my paper stories click here.