Effective Education for Employment

Group 1

Group 1 chose to elaborate an action plan for the following Vision Statement:

• Integrated public private partnerships for effective education for employment

Summary of idea

The Singaporean Government should treats private providers as inclusive educational partners, with recognition of private institutions as fully accredited training providers.

Outcomes

• An accredited framework which acknowledges private education, combined with a level playing field for funding across public/private sectors.
• Such a framework would create more choice for students, making Singapore a more appealing place to study for foreign students.
• However, to achieve this all educational stakeholders would be consulted, with a particular need to address the resistance of higher education to a level playing field.

Action plan

The group felt that the foundation of partnership between private education providers and the Singaporean government was a flexible system whereby wherever you take your education it counts against your overall educational achievement record, meaning whatever you've learned isn't wasted. Such a measure was considered vital for both Singapore citizens and immigrants. The Singaporean government should also 'open the doors' to the private education sector and involve them more in policy formation.

In order to achieve such a flexible system, a clear definition of what qualifies as a "credible" qualification needs to be developed. It was felt that a single system of accreditation like NQF would facilitate this.

Maintaining standards is crucial for such a system to work. The group would create a standards body that includes all relevant stakeholders e.g. training providers, trade unions, employers to direct education design, aiding the development of a robust process for accrediting providers. Furthermore, they would instigate a system of course evaluation by Industry.

Group 2

Group 2 chose to elaborate an action plan for the following Vision Statement:

• A credible, valued, private education system, supported by a coherent framework

Summary of idea

Edexcel takes the lead in convincing the Singaporean government of the value of private education through promoting/leveraging its accredited qualifications.

Outcomes

• In response to what the group saw as a 'disconnect' between government and the country's private education sector, this idea would have the Singaporean Government recognise the private education sector as serving a fully integrated role in national educational development.
• Facilitation of greater trust in private education with a coordinated framework and central control providing further assurance of quality in education delivery.

Action plan

The group saw a pivotal role for Edexcel to approach the Singaporean government to begin dialogue on a coherent, comprehensive set of qualifications and an accreditation framework based on its internationally recognised credibility and accredited courses, while working closely with professional associations and business councils.

Subsequently, Edexcel would develop an international qualification framework and share/coordinate this with other private providers in Singapore, thus providing increased legitimacy for courses offered across the private education sector.

Part and parcel of this approach is an increased assurance of quality control for students, coupled with punitive measure for those organisations who fail to meet these standards. Those who don't meet set standards would risk having their licence to offer accredited courses suspended. Should an institution fail to meet required standards, Edexcel would take a central role in ensuring that individual students are not disadvantaged through controlling movement from one institution to another (on a programme specific basis).

The group also suggested a set of measures to aid professional development within Singapore. It was suggested Edexcel could provide a training package to private education providers to aid the quality of educational delivery, specifically, teaching packages customisable for the specific needs of each educational organisation.

To ensure that supply meets demand learning material would be printed locally. Materials would be provided as e-books and e-publishing which can then be printed by a local supplier who has developed a partnership with Pearson. This would also enable Pearson to maintain control of the quality of learning materials in a sustainable manner; materials could be printed on-demand with easier access and less waste of resources. On the demand side, price of materials should accurately reflect the
purchasing power of local marketplaces, thus facilitating maximum access to learning resources.