Private Education Act

7 June 2010

Dear Parents

The Private Education Act and its effect on Avondale Grammar School’s  fees collection

As many of you will be aware, new legislation governing the operation of all private schools of any type in Singapore was passed by the government in late November 2009 and officially came into force on 21 December 2009.

The Private Education Act is the legislation that now governs and controls every aspect of the registration and operations of each private school in Singapore.  The Act is implemented and enforced by the Council for Private Education (CPE).  All private schools are now required to apply for registration through the CPE.

A significant aspect of the new Act is the clear statement that private and international schools are required to change their approach to fee deposits and fee billing generally. This essentially means that fee deposits paid since 21st December, 2009 (the date of the Act) to private schools must be refunded. We have a mechanism in train for processing those refunds. Fee Deposits paid prior to 21st December, 2009 remain bound by the terms and conditions of the original enrolment contract.

Avondale Grammar School is required to establish an escrow account into which all tuition fees are to be paid directly by the parents whose children attend that school.  Most international schools have also chosen to require parents to pay 6 months fees in advance. Being sensitive to the strain that a six month school fees bill can put on the family budget, Avondale Grammar School is offering parents a quarterly billing system.

In order to provide a smooth transition to the new billing system, Avondale Grammar has made the decision to alter the time period for which fees are paid (in advance) for the remainder of 2010. Commencing with the invoice you will find enclosed with this letter, Avondale families will be asked to pay fees for only two months in advance for the remainder of 2010.  A schedule of invoice and payment dates has been included in this mail out.  We trust that paying two months in advance will assist families to budget for school fees more easily.

To cover the substantial increase in administrative costs of this arrangement the school will apply an $85.00 charge in addition to the core tuition fee from July 2010.  We are also encouraging all parents to set up a direct debit arrangement with their banks for the payment of school fees to make it easier for all concerned.If fees are not paid to the school by the due date as indicated on the payment schedule an Individual Payment Administration fee of $500 will be charged.   Parents should also be aware that if fees are not paid on time the school reserves the right to refuse admission to families until such time as all monies owing have been paid in full.

The schedule for the payment dates for the remainder of 2010 is shown below.  Should you have any queries in relation to any of these issues, please do not hesitate to speak with me at your convenience.

Yours sincerely,
Andrew Coote
Head of Avondale Grammar School