[File photo: Brookes Business School was was shut down in July after being exposed for peddling fake RMIT degrees.]

By Tan Wei Zhen

IN A sign of continuing troubles in the private education market, the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) has suspended 13 private schools from its CaseTrust accreditation scheme.

The mass suspensions - the largest number meted out by Case so far - were handed down because the schools failed to provide insurance to safeguard students' fees.

The affected schools range from popular ones such as the Lee Wei Song School of Music to small hair and beauty schools like Jantzen Academy.

Schools which are suspended from the CaseTrust scheme are not allowed to recruit new international students.

The scheme requires private schools to purchase insurance or provide a special bank account to safeguard the fees of foreign students.

This safeguard was introduced a few years ago after several private schools went under, leaving students with unrefunded school fees.

In a statement yesterday, Case said that despite its 'having served a number of advance notices and reminders via letters and phone calls', the schools failed to act and were therefore suspended.

The affected schools must have insurance cover within the next seven days. If they do not, they will be dropped from the scheme.

Those which comply will be reinstated.

Yesterday's action comes four months after the high-profile scandal involving Brookes Business School, which was shut down in July after it was found to be offering fake degrees.

Incidents such as these moved Parliament to pass tougher new laws in September.

The introduction of the Private Education Act was the latest attempt to regulate and raise standards in an industry that has been rocked by numerous closures of schools, including those which offered unaccredited or fake degrees to unsuspecting students.

About 1,000 private institutions are covered by the new laws, and those found breaking them will be prosecuted.