A LONG-ESTABLISHED private education provider is 'struggling' - happily - to cope with expanding student numbers that have made it the size of a small university.

The Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) has had to acquire a second new campus site to cope with a student population that will go up from the current 12,000 to 15,000 by the end of next year.

Its story stands in contrast with the University of New South Wales (UNSW), which made its exit earlier this year.

MDIS now offers 30 degree courses, including mass communications, business, information technology and biomedical sciences. It plans to add degree courses in psychology, early childhood education and banking and finance.

The 51-year-old institute moved to a new 3ha campus in Stirling Road just two years ago to expand its enrolment from 6,000 to 10,000.

Now, with 12,000 students going on 15,000, it has acquired another campus site, this time in Queensway.

MDIS secretary-general R. Theyvendran said: 'When we acquired the Stirling Road campus, we thought it will take us three to five years to hit the 10,000 mark.

'We reached that figure in two years and over the past three months, we added another 2,000 students.'

The institute began as the Supervisory and Management Training Association of Singapore, running courses on topics such as industrial safety for supervisors and managers. It turned into the MDIS in 1984 and quickly became popular for its part-time courses for working adults.

It now also enrols both local and foreign students as full-time students. They pay fees of up to $8,000 for a diploma course and up to $30,000 for a degree programme.

Mr Theyvendran said the school is glad, after an intensive search, to have found the 1.2ha Queensway site, which is near the Stirling Road campus.

Apart from renovating the two-storey former fire station, recreational facilities will include a bistro and street soccer court.

MDIS is negotiating with the relevant authorities for two more sites: One in Queenstown to build a hostel, and another in the city to build a campus for working adults.

Mr Theyvendran said the growth came mainly from foreign students. About 3,500 foreign students now make up 30 per cent of its total student numbers, and in a few years, this is expected to reach 40 per cent.

The majority are from China, Vietnam, Indonesia and India. Others come from some 50 countries, including Britain and the United States.

'Despite the exit of UNSW, Singapore continues to be a draw because it is a safe, modern city,' he said.

When the Australian university decided to pull out just three months after it opened, there were questions from the public and in Parliament over whether a 150,000 tertiary student enrolment target by 2015 was reachable.

Mr Theyvendran is confident Singapore is on track to meet this target.

'Reputable local players like MDIS are showing that it can be done,' he said.

The others include the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), PSB Academy and the Stansfield Group.

SIM reported in September that its private school arm had more than 14,000 students, while PSB Academy reported in June that it had about 7,500 students.

But Mr Theyvendran said that enough reasonably priced housing for students was needed.

Meanwhile, students said the main draws of MDIS are its reputable foreign university partners and its good facilities.

Chinese student Lily Li, 21, who is taking a life sciences degree course at MDIS, said: 'It has proper life sciences labs. It feels very much like a university campus.'