COUNCIL FOR PRIVATE EDUCATION

Council for Private Education

Established under the Private Education Act, the Council for Private Education (CPE) is a statutory board empowered with the legislative power to regulate the private education sector. In addition to its role as the sectoral regulator of private education institutions, the Council facilitates capability development efforts to uplift standards in the local private education industry.
The Council is governed by a Board, helmed by Mr Lin Cheng Ton, Chief Executive Officer of Nanyang Polytechnic International, and comprises experienced individuals from the fields of education, quality assurance and business, as well as economic agencies involved in the promotion of the private education sector.

Introduction to the Fee Protection Scheme (FPS)

The Fee Protection Scheme (FPS) serves to protect students’ fees in the event a private education institution is unable to continue operating due to insolvency, and/or regulatory closure. The Fee Protection Scheme also protects students if the private education institution fails to pay penalties or return fees to the students arising from judgment made against it by the Singapore courts.

EduTrust-certified private education institutions are required to adopt the Fee Protection Scheme to provide full protection to all fees paid by their students. All fees refer to all monies paid by the students to be enrolled in a private education institution, excluding the course application fee, agent commission fee (if applicable), miscellaneous fees (non-compulsory and non-standard fee paid only when necessary or where applicable, for example, the re-exam fee or charges for credit card payment etc,) and GST.
Private education institutions can choose to adopt either the escrow scheme, insurance scheme, or a combination of both to provide fee protection to all their students.
Fee Protection under the Escrow Scheme
Under the escrow scheme, private education institutions are strictly not allowed to collect any money from their students. Instead, the students are to deposit all their fees into the escrow bank account which their private school has opened with any one of the Council for Private Education-appointed banks. Funds in the account are disbursed to the private education institution on a regular basis only if specific conditions are met.

The Council for Private Education-appointed banks include the:
- Development Bank of Singapore (DBS);
- Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC); and
- Standard Chartered Bank (SCB).
Fee Protection under the Insurance Scheme
Under the fee insurance scheme, private education institutions will purchase insurance protection from any one of the Council for Private Education-appointed insurance companies for every one of their students to protect their fees.

Students studying in an EduTrust-certified private education institution need to pay fees of up to a maximum of 12 months of their course duration to their private school.
The Council for Private Education-appointed insurance companies are Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Insurance Singapore and Lonpac Insurance Bhd.4

Standard Student Contract

As per CPE requirements, international and local students are required to enter into a Standard Student Contract with the School prior to confirmation of enrolment and this policy is communicated to the students through our various communication channels, including our website. While it is only made compulsory for all international students to take up the Fee Protection Scheme, the School will grant local students an option to enjoy the benefits of the Scheme and this option is clearly indicated in the Standard Student Contract (Local Student).
In summary, the Standard Student Contract is a mandatory document for the enrollment of both international and local students.
You can visit http://www.cpe.gov.sg for more details