GRANTS will be given to private schools to help them defray the cost of getting advice on complying with the requirements of a new private education law.

Senior Minister of State (Education) S. Iswaran said yesterday that the grants will allow private schools to hire consultants to conduct reviews and identify areas in need of improvement.

He was responding to Mr Yeo Guat Kwang (Aljunied GRC), who asked if anything could be done to help private schools which have to meet new standards set by the Council for Private Education, a new statutory board regulating the private education sector.

These schools have until June next year to register with the council.

To register, they must provide insurance for local and foreign students and show they have proper systems in place, such as independent academic and examination boards to develop and review their academic policies.

Schools wanting to take in foreigners also have to qualify for a higher quality standard: the EduTrust mark.

To get this, they will be graded on their corporate governance and management responsibilities.

The council is working with Spring Singapore, IE Singapore and other industry partners to provide the grants.

Mr Iswaran also gave an update on the number which have registered with the council. At the end of last month, it had received 240 applications for registration and 23 applications for the EduTrust mark.

Amelia Tan

This article was first published in The Straits Times.