Private Schools in Singapore are governed by the Committee for Private Education (CPE) through two regulatory frameworks: the mandatory ERF and voluntary EduTrust certification. In April 2023, EduTrust Certification Scheme was updated to Guidance Document 4 (GD4) to improve the overall standard of Private Schools in Singapore. Changes include regrouping criterion requirements, stricter EduTrust assessment process, and the introduction of performance outcomes. Private Schools must comply with these changes or risk losing their certification.

From November 24 to November 27, 2022, the highly awaited APQN AAC and AGM 2022 was held at the LifeLong Learning Institute in Singapore. It was the first physical that the annual after two years. The event had brought together about 100 experts and professionals in the education industry from more than 10 countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Russia, Japan, Australia, China, Philippines, and others. The experts had in-depth discussions and exchanges on education research and development in the region, reached meaningful consensus and put forward many constructive suggestions.

Singapore’s strategic location and globalised economy has attracted both foreign talents and students to work or study in Singapore. Furthermore, many businesses are increasing demand for professional trainings and sending staff to boost their technical skills for work. Given the enticing and lucrative business potential in the Private Education Industry in Singapore, it comes as no surprise that more private education institutions are attempting to set up private schools in Singapore. The Singapore training and education market is evolving. Given the size of the market, government funding allocations, and the requirement that the workforce has a deeper understanding of recently acquired skills and knowledge to meet future economic demands, the market is moving favourably for training providers. As the Singapore government is aggressively working to improve training providers' services in order to professionalise and strengthen the TAE business, training providers must be committed to assist in Singapore's industrial development and ensuring the economic competitiveness of Singaporeans. As a WSQ ATO consultant with over 10 years of experience in the private education industry, EduValue is well poised to guide ATOs & WSQ training providers with the ATO application process, ensuring compliance with SSG regulatory requirements.

The Singapore training and education market is evolving. Given the size of the market, government funding allocations, and the requirement that the workforce has a deeper understanding of recently acquired skills and knowledge to meet future economic demands, the market is moving favourably for training providers. As the Singapore government is aggressively working to improve training providers' services in order to professionalise and strengthen the TAE business, training providers must be committed to assist in Singapore's industrial development and ensuring the economic competitiveness of Singaporeans. As a WSQ ATO consultant with over 10 years of experience in the private education industry, EduValue is well poised to guide ATOs & WSQ training providers with the ATO application process, ensuring compliance with SSG regulatory requirements.

Both the ERF and EduTrust are expected to continue to evolve as Singapore’s private education industry matures in its journey towards quality and increasing importance on academic quality and student outcomes. EduValue has 10 years of experience handling ERF and EduTrust Certification. With more than 40 clients, consulting and assisting them on their ERF and EduTrust journeys and undergoing an average of 25 site assessments (both ERF and EduTrust) per year, EduValue is well positioned to work with PEIs in their journey towards process improvements to meet the changing quality assurance needs in the private education landscape.

With budgetary constraints, public opinion, and the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, times are tough for those in the private education. It's difficult to imagine what life might be like for teachers, students, and parents. However, we can be proactive and stay current with current trends and information by ensuring educators are well-trained to meet the future growth needs of private education providers.

EV Academy, as part of Eduvalue Global, strives to provide high quality, relevant and necessary trainings for a competent workforce that drives Singapore’s Private Education Industry. In this article, we identified several key changes that can help to re-imagine private schools in the future as well as introduce the framework that could substantially improve the delivery of private education.

Over the years, EduValue has championed the need for independency in the Quality Assurance and Compliance functions. With the EduValue Team currently managing over 40 PEI’s Compliance functions, it could probably start to re-look at how to better strengthen the Industry looking at a Macro-perspective in areas of professional qualifications and also to share our services in terms of Independent audits.

In business, networking is one of the most effective tools for advancing an organization's professional standing. A strong Private Education Institution business network demonstrated solidarity and a united sector capable of advancing agendas, creating value, and enhancing the overall Private Education Sector's market position. EV Network, supported and funded by EduValue, is a free membership network to fulfil the gap of an independent network with the aim to bring up the standing of the Private Education Institution sector in Singapore.

With the increase in focus on lifelong learning and continuous improvement, the Training and Adult Education (TAE) industry has been growing in recent years. This article explores the factors that contribute to breaches in the regulatory framework and proposed solutions that EduValue is able to implement which helps to negate these risks. It is relevant for organisations within industries such as TAE, Private Education Institution (PEI), Institute of Higher Learning (IHL), Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) and Approved Training Organisations (ATO).

The increased in global and local M&A activities has trickled down to Singapore’s Private Education Industry Sector where many deals are happening. EduValue, together with EV Global, is expected to close M&A deals for 4 Singapore Private Education Institutions (PEIs) in Q1 of 2022 alone. In this article, we would like to share the key reasons for these acquisitions and some of the key elements that make these acquisitions attractive for investors that are interested in the Singapore Private Education Industry Sector and also how we could assist Singapore PEIs in their exit strategies.

Over the years, the Singapore private education sector has encountered constant and tremendous challenges. It is estimated that the private education sector in Singapore is worth S$3 billion (US$ 2.21 billion), and in 2020 approximately 121,000 private school students enrolled in the Singapore Private Education Institutions (PEIs) ⁽³⁾.

Despite the substantial value that the private education sector holds, many education experts and quality assurance consulting firms such as Eduvalue have observed a decline in private education trends. They indicated that these challenges are attributed to stricter Singapore’s regulatory and audit requirements, cycles of economic impact, increased competition from government-linked educational institutions, a shift towards work-skills training, and aggressive competitions amongst the PEIs. Needless to say, the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the sector’s struggles, especially in terms of recruiting international students to Singapore due to travel restrictions.

How have PEIs coped with ensuring their survivability amidst COVID-19? What has student recruitment and business continuity strategies looked like? What are some areas for improvement that if tackled, would put PEIs in better standing to survive and thrive?

We have been developing and refining the EV Education Group to provide an integrated and comprehensive full suite consulting service that meets the education sector’s needs in the areas of QA, due diligence, compliance, tech, HR, training, etc.

Here, we share with you more about the Group’s vision, how the brands work together and our key guiding strategies.

We discussed how EduTrust Certification Scheme (EduTrust) is not difficult to attain. Yet, in the last 17 months, 15 PEIs downgraded or lost their EduTrust. In this article, we highlight areas that might have hindered these PEIs ability to maintain their EduTrust and provide our recommendations to minimise such risks.

In this final part of our two-part series about starting a private school in Singapore, we discuss what EduTrust is and share some of our expertise. As a pre-requisite to obtain EduTrust is 4-Year Enhanced Registration Framework (ERF) PEIs, we recommend you also read our previous article about ERF.

Previously, we have mentioned terms like ERF and EduTrust when referring to Private Education Institutions (PEIs). But what are they and what is the difference? Are they difficult to attain? In our 2-part series, we delve into defining ERF and EduTrust, share our expertise on the misconceptions surrounding these certifications so that you are more knowledgeable as you start your private school in Singapore.

On 12 April 2021, the Committee for Private Education released the findings of their Private Education Institutions Graduate Employment Survey 2019/20. Together with the Industry Research Team at EduValue Global , we looked into its findings and identified key areas for improvement and provided some recommendations for consideration.

Part 2 of this two-part series on the Market Analysis of Singapore's PEI Sector (2015-2020) discusses the overall trends of PEIs EduTrust certifications from 2015 to 2020.

Our Industry Research Team provides you with a two-part series on the Market Analysis of Singapore's PEI Sector (2015-2020). In this first article, we focus on the growing trend of PEIs attaining EduTrust.