TERTIARY COURSES

Dr Teo Ho Pin asked the Minister for Education whether his Ministry has any accreditation system or licensing requirements to control the quality of full-time, part-time and distance learning tertiary courses (diploma, degree and postgraduate programmes) conducted by private institutions in Singapore.

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: There are many different overseas tertiary institutions offering a wide variety of courses of study in Singapore. It is not possible for the Ministry of Education to evaluate the quality of the programmes and the teaching. This is particularly so for distance-learning programmes. The Ministry of Education therefore does not have an accreditation system to control the standard and quality of these programmes.

The tertiary institutions offering the courses and their local agents are responsible for all aspects of the programme. It is advisable for students considering taking up such courses to first check out their worthiness before enrolling in any of them.