This is according to the President of the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) Yeo Guat Kwang.

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a forum on Friday, June 1.

Many of the students from the UNSW Asia campus were left in a lurch when the university announced it was closing its operations in Singapore.

Some are considering the scholarship offered by the university to help them continue their studies.

So far, none of the affected UNSW students has approached CASE for help.

Mr Yeo said the university's redress package offered to the students was reasonable.

He added that right now, the authorities were handling the matter and students could also turn to adequate resources for help.

So Mr Yeo felt it was not necessary for CASE to step in at this point.

He said, "On the winding up case, I think it's different because I think they didn't make any misrepresentations or (tried) to mislead the students in a sense. I think in a sense, at the end of the day, as it starts to roll out their plans for the students, they found that it may not be viable for them to continue. But it's a good thing that at least now they offer the students a choice to actually go over to Australia to complete their studies. "

Meanwhile foreign students studying at private institutions in Singapore have said the UNSW closure has set them thinking.

A student from China, Liu Lei, said, "At first I was not affected, as I trusted my school. After that incident, I became a little worried. I was worried that if the school closed down, I would not know where to go for help."

He added, "(But) I am not (too) worried yet. I believe that the school deserves our trust."

And trust in the reputation of Singapore as an education hub has not been broken by the UNSW closure, according to an association which advises foreign students and private education organisations here.

Daniel Chu, President, Association of Consultants for International Students (Singapore), said, "It may cause the investors who may want to invest in Singapore for private education to understand the market a bit more, before they pump in millions of dollars.

"(The) Singapore brand name has been established internationally. (The) Singapore brand name is still good. This small incident will not affect students who want to come here, they'll still come."

To make sure they continue to come, Mr Chu's association, which has some 40 members, is also planning to step up professionalism in the education industry, through accreditation and training. - CNA/ms

    
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