PART I | Short title and commencement |
| 1. This Act may be cited as the Private Education Act 2009 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint. |
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —“advertisement” includes any notice, circular, pamphlet, brochure, prospectus, programme or other document, and any announcement, notification or intimation, to the public or any section thereof or to any person or persons, made —| (a) | orally or in writing; | | (b) | by means of any poster, placard, notice or other document affixed, posted or displayed on any wall, billboard or hoarding or on any other object or thing; | | (c) | by means of sound broadcast, television, the Internet or other media; or | | (d) | in any other form or manner whatsoever; |
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| “Appeals Board” means the Appeals Board constituted under section 51; |
| “appointed day” means the date of commencement of Part II; |
| “award”, in relation to a private education institution, includes the conferment of any degree, diploma or certificate by the private education institution, whether on its own behalf or otherwise; |
| “body corporate” includes a limited liability partnership; |
| “Chairman” means the Chairman of the Council and includes any temporary Chairman of the Council; |
| “Chief Executive” means the Chief Executive of the Council appointed under section 10 and includes any person acting in that capacity; |
| “committee member” means a member of any committee appointed by the Council under section 9(1); |
| “company” has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Companies Act (Cap. 50); |
| “Council” means the Council for Private Education established under section 3; |
| “course”, in relation to a private education institution, means a course of study or training programme offered or provided by the private education institution; |
“course money” means money that a private education institution receives, directly or indirectly, from —| (a) | a student, or a person (whether within or outside Singapore) who intends to become or who has taken any steps towards becoming a student (referred to in this Act as an intending student); or | | (b) | another person who pays the money on behalf of the student or intending student, |
| for a course that the private education institution is providing or offering to provide to the student or intending student; |
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| “director” has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Companies Act; |
| “education” includes instruction, training or teaching; |
| “education institution” means any person that offers to provide, or provides, education, whether by itself or in association or collaboration with or by affiliation with any other person; |
| “examination service”, in relation to any private education institution, means any test, examination or other method of assessing the level of proficiency, aptitude, skill, knowledge or understanding of a person attending or enrolled in any course provided by the private education institution; |
| “inspector” means an inspector appointed by the Council under section 56(1); |
| “limited liability partnership” has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act (Cap. 163A); |
“manager” —| (a) | in relation to a private education institution that is a body corporate, means any director, partner or member of its board or committee of management which is responsible for the management of the affairs of the body corporate, or other similar officer of the body corporate, and includes any person in accordance with whose directions, instructions or wishes those directors, partners or other members, as the case may be, are accustomed or under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act; | | (b) | in relation to a private education institution that is an unincorporated association (other than a partnership), means any member of the governing body of the unincorporated association which is responsible for the management of the affairs of the unincorporated association, or any person holding a position analogous to that of member of such a governing body; | | (c) | in relation to a private education institution that is a partnership, means any partner of the partnership; or | | (d) | in relation to a private education institution that is a sole-proprietorship, means the sole-proprietor; |
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| “member” means a member of the Council and includes any temporary member of the Council; |
| “partner” includes any person purporting to act as a partner; |
| “partnership” includes a limited partnership within the meaning of the Limited Partnerships Act 2008 (Act 37 of 2008); |
| “premises”, in relation to a private education institution (whether registered or unregistered) or a proposed private education institution, means any building, enclosure, ground, open-air space or other place used or to be used by the private education institution or proposed private education institution in connection with the provision of private education; |
| “prescribed dispute resolution scheme” means a dispute resolution scheme that is prescribed under section 64; |
| “private education” has the meaning given to it in the First Schedule; |
“private education institution” means —| (a) | any person that offers to provide or provides private education, whether or not the person offers to provide or provides the private education —| (i) | for profit; | | (ii) | together with other education; or | | (iii) | by itself or in association or collaboration with or by affiliation with any other person; and |
| | (b) | such school registered under the Education Act (Cap. 87) which receives a grant-in-aid or subvention extended by the Government to aided schools as is specified by the Minister in a notification published in the Gazette, |
| but does not include any private education institution that the Minister declares, by notification in the Gazette, to be excluded from this definition, after having regard to the association, collaboration with or affiliation of the private education institution with any school registered under the Education Act; |
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| “registered private education institution” means any private education institution that is registered under Part III; |
| “registered society” means a society registered or deemed to be registered under the Societies Act (Cap. 311); |
| “renovation works” means any structural or non-structural additions and alterations carried out to any premises, but does not include repairs and maintenance works; |
| “Scheme” means a voluntary accreditation or certification scheme established or maintained under section 49(1); |
| “student”, in relation to an education institution, means a person who receives, or is enrolled in the education institution to receive, education offered or provided by the education institution; |
| “teacher” means a person who teaches students of an education institution, or who prepares or issues lessons or corrects written answers; |
| “unregistered private education institution” means any private education institution that is not, or that ceases to be, a registered private education institution, but does not include an education institution which is exempted under section 68 from registration under Part III. |
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