RMIT had lodged complaint about Brookes as early as 2007
SINGAPORE: Australia’s RMIT had written to Singapore’s Education Ministry as early as April 2007 to complain about Brookes Business School.
RMIT said Brookes was falsely associating itself with the university through its website and offering its degrees.
This was revealed by Senior Minister of State for Education S Iswaran in a written parliamentary statement.
In April 2007, RMIT alerted Singapore authorities to the suspicious nature of the Brookes Business School.
Two months later, the Education Ministry gave Brookes a warning for carrying misleading information on its website and other publicity materials.
Today, hundreds of students are helpless, either without a school or worse still stranded with a fake degree.
Mr Iswaran said: "Over the years, the government had adopted a light touch approach in regulating this industry, which included among other measures, basic registration and CaseTrust accreditation for education providers."
However, with the number of private schools rising, the minister said a "light touch" may not work anymore.
The number of private schools doubled in the ten years between 1987 and 1997, from 150 to 305. It then quadrupled in the next ten years between 1997 and 2007, from 305 to 1,200 private schools.
He said the Council of Private Education (CPE) to be set up under the new Private Education Bill will better regulate the industry.
Students are advised to check degrees offered by private institutions with the ministry’s list of legitimate schools on its website.
The ministry said degrees offered by Brookes were never on the list.
Once the Private Education Bill is passed, the CPE will require education providers to specifically inform prospective students if degrees offered by them are on the list.
Meanwhile, police are still investigating the case.
— CNA/vm
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I am suprised no one shoot at MOE about
Brookes Business School incident.
negligent
Is MOE neglient by not telling public of RMIT's complaint about Brookes in April 2007?
I quote
Brookes Business School was falsely associating itself with RMIT on its website and offering RMIT’s external degree programmes.
--
http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/parliamentary-replies/2009/
Brookes Business School
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mdm Halimah Yacob, MP for Jurong GRC
Question
(a) What steps have been taken to stop Brookes Business School from continuing with peddling fake degrees after the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology reported to the Ministry in 2007 about them?; and (b) What was done to alert the public so as to contain the damage?
................
4..On the Member’s specific questions, RMIT had written to MOE in April 2007 to report that the Brookes Business School was falsely associating itself with RMIT on its website and offering RMIT’s external degree programmes. In the same letter, RMIT had also informed MOE that it had obtained an undertaking from Brookes Business School to remove all references to RMIT under its programmes and collaterals, to notify affected students, and to refrain from any such activities in the future. RMIT had indicated that it would initiate legal proceedings against Brookes Business School if the undertaking was not honoured.
5..Subsequently in June 2007, MOE issued a warning to Brookes Business School for carrying misleading information on its website and other publicity materials. RMIT was kept informed and as MOE did not receive further indication from RMIT, considered the matter to be resolved through private action between the parties concerned. We also understand that no legal proceedings have been initiated by RMIT against Brookes Business School over the past two years.
2.I think less students would choose Brookes from April if MOE tell the public about RMIT's complaint.
3.Nowadays,civil servants shall not just look at the In Box of e mail and In box on
their desk.They should pro active to serve the public.They should sound the warning.
This incident will not enhance reputation of SG in education..
How can they assume" THE CASE is closed" when they have not received
any complaints.Have they read newspaper and web site abt Brookes advertisements,
if there is any?
4.I am pity with all students who put their truths,time,money and hopes in SG education sys!!
further reading--
http://www.sgforums.com/forums/10/topics/279487
CASE: Brookes Business School Withheld Insurance Certs from Students
An internal investigation by consumer watchdog CASE into Brookes Business School found that the school has misled students.
It withheld insurance certificates from them, which CASE says are serious breaches of the CaseTrust criteria.
As a result, students may not be aware that they're under-insured or not insured under the Student Protection Scheme.
Some of the receipts from students show that they've paid the school between $20,000 and $30,000, but the school only insured them for $1,000.
Local students say they were not even offered the insurance option although the school should've done so.
The majority of students who sought help from CASE also revealed that they were not given the Standard Student Contract.
The business school was previously accredited with CaseTrust.
It means the school was obliged to protect students' tuition fees either through an approved bank or an insurance scheme.
Only with accreditation can the school enroll foreign students.
CASE reminds all students enrolled in private schools to obtain a certificate of insurance from the school and make sure the full tuition fees are covered under the insurance when they sign up for the course.
Students should also be given a copy of the signed Standard Student Contract, a sample of which is available at the CASE website.
In the event the owner of the school Mr Benny Yap files for bankruptcy, CASE advises students to seek legal advice on recovery of any claims against the school.
This could be with the Small Claims Tribunal or through legal proceedings.
For more information, visit CASE at www.case.org.sg
--938Live
CASE to step up checks on education providers
SINGAPORE: The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) says it
will step up checks on private education providers in Singapore.
This follows the recent Brookes Business School debacle where the school was found peddling fake degrees.
Now, CASE has found out that Brookes was withholding insurance
certificates from students. As a result, students might not have been
aware if they were under-insured or not insured under the Student
Protection Scheme.
According to CASE, local students said the school did not offer the insurance option to them although it should have done so.
CASE wants to remind all students enrolled in private schools to
obtain a certificate of insurance from their private school and make
sure their full tuition fees are covered under the insurance scheme
when they sign up for their courses.
Meanwhile, 31 students, mostly from China, have asked local lawyer
Leonard Loo to help them file a lawsuit against the school. They want
their school fees, which amount to a total of about S$700,000, back.
This is the second batch of students to take such action, following similar action by a group of 19 students last week.
Subhas Anandan, the lawyer acting for the school's owner Benny Yap,
told Channel NewsAsia that one option that his client may consider is
giving consent to judgement.
This will allow both parties to save money and time by eliminating the process of a full trial.
- CNA/yt
High Court allows 19 students to recover school fees from Brookes Business School
SINGAPORE : Singapore's High Court has given the green light for 19 students to recover S$53,000 in school fees from the now defunct Brookes Business School.
The private institution is accused of peddling fake degrees from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
Singapore's Education Ministry stripped Brookes Business School of its registration in July.
The court's decision was delivered in less than two months - a
significantly shorter wait compared to the usual nine months for a
civil suit.
The students' lawyer said the partners of Brooke Business School,
Yap Chee Mun and Lim Cheow Young, failed to file a defence setting out
their position.
More than 400 local and foreign students were affected by the school's
closure. Some 170 of them have since been accepted by seven other
private schools.
A total of 213 students applied for places, with the help of the
Association of Private Schools and Colleges, but 36 were rejected for
reasons such as not meeting the minimum requirement and not being able
to produce proof of qualification.
Another group of 31 affected students has filed a similar suit
against Brookes Business School. They are looking to recover S$70,000
in school fees.
- CNA/ms
Private Education Bill to ensure quality courses, school accountability
SINGAPORE: Parliament has passed the Private Education Bill which, among other things will ensure the quality of courses offered at over 1,000 private schools here.
And should a school be forced to closed, the new law will also
make clear who should be held responsible. But some MPs felt the new
law lacks bite.
The new law is aimed at raising the standards of the private
education sector here. But the Ministry of Education warned that
tighter regulation will not eliminate risk.
S Iswaran, Senior Minister of State for Education, said: "A strong
regulatory framework, while necessary, is not a panacea. Regulatory
systems in all countries aim to assure consumers of certain quality
standards.
"While risk can be mitigated, it can never be completely eliminated.
The new system cannot by itself guarantee student satisfaction, avert
school closures or prevent regulatory infringements."
Under the law, all courses offered by private institutions will have to be registered with the new Council of Private Education.
For external degree programmes for instance, checks include verifying
the authenticity of the courses with the foreign university. And where
courses do not make the mark, it will be the school's responsibility to
lay out alternative arrangements for its students - such as
transferring them to an approved course.
Failure to do so will be a criminal offence, with penalties comprising fines and jail terms.
But in Parliament on Monday, some MPs wondered if these measures serve as an effective deterrence.
Christopher De Souza, MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, said: "If the
cohort comprises 20 students, the money the PEI would stand to gain
from a dishonest cheating enterprise could easily exceed S$100,000. The
maximum fine of S$10,000 is an insufficient deterrent.
"A $10,000 fine lacks bite. PEIs could well consider it a business
cost, and one which justifies taking the risk of embarking on an
unscrupulous exercise to cheat vulnerable students. A fine of up to
S$100,000 seems a more robust deterrent."
Beyond basic registration, schools that accept foreign students
will have to comply with new EduTrust standards, including mandatory
fee protection.
Halimah Yacob, MP for Jurong GRC, said: "My concern is that this
will give the wrong signal that private schools catering to local
students can have lower standards and quality."
But Mr Iswaran stressed there will be safeguards to protect course
fees for all students, including a limit on how much schools can accept
upfront, and that not all schools will see it necessary to apply for
the voluntary EduTrust.
Registration of private schools is also subject to regular renewal.
Schools will also need to disclose vital information such as the
qualifications of their teachers.
MPs were also divided as to how much regulation there should be.
Some argued that self-governance clearly has not worked, while others
warned that the new law represents a switch from one of no control to
one of total control.
In response, Mr Iswaran said the ministry's role can only go so far,
and ultimately, students need to do their homework when applying to
private schools.
- CNA/vm