Please refer to the Private Education (PE) Act and Regulations as well as the Information Notes on Enhanced Registration Framework (PDF, 0.40MB) for a comprehensive guide on registration requirements and the Self-checklist for new ERF applicants for the full list of documentations required for a new ERF application.
A PEI must either be a company registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), or a society registered with the Registry of Societies (ROS).
Requirements for the PEI names include that it must indicate it provides education e.g. contain words like “institute” or “academy”, be the same as its registered name under the Companies Act or the Societies Act, and the terms “university”, “Singapore” and “National” must not be used, unless otherwise permitted.
Any other abbreviation that makes reference to the local education institutions; and names that are similar or identical to other education institutions, whether locally or overseas should be avoided.
The premises of a PEI must be deemed suitable for the delivery of private education by the relevant authorities, including SSG. A PEI must seek SSG’s permission before operating in and making changes to its premises.
For new applicants, a PEI does not need to secure premises when they put in the application. Once SSG has processed the application and given an in-principle approval (IPA), the PEI will be given 6 months from the date of IPA to secure its premises and obtain SSG’s permission for use of the premises.
PEI managers must meet the fit and proper person criteria (PDF, 0.33MB).
PEI managers are the directors of the company, or the members of a society’s management committee.
The duties of the managers include but are not limited to the following:
PEIs are required to establish an Academic Board to develop the policies and procedures governing academic quality and rigour, and ensuring their implementation, adherence and review. The Academic Board of a PEI must include at least three members who meet the conditions detailed in the PE Regulations. The members of the Academic Board may be the same as those on the Examination Board. A PEI may appoint its managers or staff as members of either the Academic or Examination Boards as long as there is no conflict of interest.
PEIs are required to establish an Examination Board to develop and implement the processes governing the conduct of examinations or assessments of its self-developed courses. Externally-developed courses should be examined or assessed according to the procedures specified by the external course developer or proprietor.
The Examination Board of a PEI must include at least three members who meet the conditions detailed in the PE Regulations. The members of the Examination Board may be the same as those on the Academic Board. A PEI may appoint its managers or staff as members of either the Academic or Examination Boards as long as there is no conflict of interest.
To be registered as a PEI, it must have at least one course which is permitted by the SSG. The courses permitted by SSG shall only be provided or delivered in Singapore. Unless advised otherwise, PEIs must separately obtain SSG's permission to offer or provide a course overseas, whether by itself or in association or collaboration with another person or education institution.
Teachers deployed must be fit and proper (PDF, 0.33MB), and possess minimum qualifications and experience to teach at the level of the course deployed to. PEIs must ensure that the qualifications of the teachers are conferred by education institutions which are recognised by the relevant authority in the country or territory in which they are established, and that the qualifications have not been conferred as honorary degrees.
PEIs must adhere to the requirements, and terms and conditions specified by SSG when administering any SSG-permitted course. Amongst others, these requirements include that the student has:
A sample of the student contract can be found here (PDF, 156KB).
To enable prospective students to make informed choices, PEIs must adhere to the advertising and information disclosure requirements stipulated under PE regulations 27,28 and 29. SSG has also established advertisement guidelines in the form of an advertising code and stipulated the type of information that must be disclosed by PEIs. Among the guidelines is the requirement for PEIs to only use the term “registered” to describe its status granted by SSG.
(For more information, please refer to the PE Regulations and Advertising Codes (PDF, 0.41MB))