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SINGAPORE: Singapore's Education Ministry (MOE) has cancelled the registration of a private school that has been investigated for offering fake degrees from a well-known Australian university.
It is the first case this year of a school being stripped of its registration by the ministry.
MOE said this follows investigations by the secretariat of the pro-tem Council for Private Education (CPE) on Brookes Business School for contraventions of the Education Act.
The school has been accused by its students of peddling fake degrees from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology for as little as S$12,000.
MOE told Channel NewsAsia some 400 local and overseas students are affected by the closure. Some have already paid more than S$10,000 in deposits.
Most of the students whom Channel NewsAsia spoke to refused to appear on camera, but several of them said they already had doubts over the school's credibility.
Jonathan Ong, student at Brookes Business School, said: "I'm not surprised. Ever since I signed up with this school, there've been a lot of changes to their policies and the programme structures."
This is despite the fact that the school was registered with MOE and had Casetrust accreditation from the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE).
Casetrust-endorsed schools receive certification for having good student welfare/protection practices and standards, such as clear fee policies, well-defined student redress practices and systems, a declared commitment to quality, and well-trained personnel.
According to CASE's website, the certification does not represent endorsement or accreditation of the quality of the courses offered.
Thevanathan Pillay, assistant director, CASE, said: "For those students who have completed their course and feel they've been given a fake certificate, they should actually go to court and sue the business."
MOE said the secretariat of the pro-tem CPE is working with various agencies and private education industry players to put in place measures to ensure that affected students have other avenues to complete their studies.
Students may approach the Association of Private Schools and Colleges (APSC) to be placed in another private education institution. For this purpose, students should be prepared to show proof that they are currently enrolled students of Brookes Business School.
They should also bring along the following documents:
i) student contracts;
ii) payment receipts;
iii) course schedules and assignments completed;
iv) any past tests scripts and results.
The APSC helpline is 6252-3192 or 6252-6134.
MOE said prior to approaching APSC, international students holding student passes issued by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) should first approach CASE to get advice on fee returns under the Student Protection Scheme.
CASE's helpline is 6463-1811. Students may also contact pro-tem CPE via the MOE Customer Service at MOE_CPE_Contact@moe.gov.sg or 6872-2220.
- CNA/so
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