New Rules

The new rules to raise standards in an industry rocked by numerous school closures will kick in once the Private Education Bill is passed by parliament in the second half of this year. Private school operators will need to show that their teachers, examination procedures and finances are up to scratch, and those who leave students in the lurch will face tougher penalties, including hefty fines and even imprisonment.

Prof Harding does not think the penalties are too heavy-handed. 'If a school collects thousands of dollars in fees and hands out worthless degrees, surely that is criminal, and it ought to be dealt with.'

She mourns the fact that every time a school in Singapore is exposed for wrongdoing, all others here, including James Cook University, are tarred with the same brush.

'Quality is everything when you are seeking to underscore your credentials in higher education. Otherwise, why should any overseas student pay tens of thousands of dollars to come to Singapore to study for a degree course? Especially since there are neighbouring countries such as Malaysia that are offering Australian degrees at cheaper costs.'

James Cook University students here pay almost as much in tuition fees as those on the Australian campus - about $40,000 for a business degree course. Malaysian campuses charge as little as half of that for an Australian degree.

She stresses: 'There should be no compromise on quality. That is one of the ways in which Singapore can have an edge over other countries in the region.'

She relates the experience in Australia, when quality audits for universities and other higher education institutions were introduced about a decade ago.

Since then, all its 39 universities, including two private ones, have gone through a round of audits where their admission standards, partners, facilities and qualifications of their teaching staff were thoroughly assessed. Their offshore campuses were also audited as part of the process.

When James Cook University underwent the first compulsory audit in 2004, its campus here had to host the Australian Universities Quality Agency panel before the fledgling Singapore campus was given the all-clear.

'If the Singapore campus failed the audit, then the whole of James Cook University would have failed as well. The reports are all published and available to the public and to the media. This type of transparency is critical,' she says.

Also critical is a commitment to conducting research in tandem with teaching.

Research is the 'lifeblood of universities', she says. Her university recently spent an initial $500,000 to set up laboratories, bring in a research dean and hire a few researchers for its Singapore campus.

The plan is to conduct research that is relevant to Singapore and the region, such as the effect of telephone-based counselling on helping people kick the gambling habit, in the lead up to the opening of the first integrated resort here by year-end.

'Research is expensive of course, but we do research in our Australian campuses so why not in Singapore?' she says. 'At the end of the day, we want all our lecturers to teach and conduct research so that they develop knowledge currency in their discipline'.

By doing all this, she says James Cook University is showing it is serious about digging in for the long haul and putting down deep educational roots here. She says her officials running the Singapore campus regularly turn down offers from Malaysia, China and Vietnam to set up shop there.

'We are fully committed to our campus here and hope to grow in tandem with Singapore's education hub,' she says.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.