Public Consultation on Draft Advertisement Guidelines for Private Education Instituitions

Council for Private Education - CPE

Consultation Period: 18 Jul 2011 - 07 Aug 2011

Status: Closed

Summary

Public Consultation on Draft Advertisement Guidelines for Private Education Institutions

Detailed Description

Aim / Scope of Consultation

The Council for Private Education (CPE) is seeking feedback from private education institutions (PEIs) and members of the public on the Advertisement Guidelines for PEIs. The Advertisement Guidelines specify further advertising requirements and code of conduct for PEIs in relation to the issuance of promotional materials, in addition to the set of general disclosure requirements specified in Part VII of the Private Education Regulations 2009.

Background

Advertisements play an important role in promoting the private education sector and the PEIs. While advertisements are instrumental in enabling PEIs to differentiate themselves and inform prospective students of the courses and education-related services they provide, malpractices in advertising, especially false or misleading information, could confuse prospective students about the courses and services being offered, as well as bring disrepute to the overall image of the Singapore private education sector.

As such, the CPE recognises the need to establish clear and adequate ground rules to ensure that PEIs’ advertisements are factually correct as to serve the objective of helping prospective students make informed decisions when choosing PEIs.

The Advertisement Guidelines for PEIs

In general, PEIs are to conform to the prevailing standards of advertising and any relevant written laws in Singapore. PEIs that advertise overseas also have to ensure that their advertisements comply with all the relevant requirements in those countries. The Advertisement Guidelines complement prevailing laws and serve to ensure that the contents of PEI advertisements adhere to the following principles:
a. Truthful representation: Advertisements should not make false claims or misrepresent
b. Substantiation: All claims made in the advertisements must be substantiated.
c. Fair competition: Comparative advertisements are allowed, provided the contents do not discredit, denigrate, imitate, or exploit the goodwill of competitors whether local or foreign.
d. Observance of social values: Advertisements should not subvert the Singapore’s shared values or exploit conflicts relating to controversial national and international issues.
e. Integrity and responsibility: Advertisements should not exploit prospective students’ lack of experience, expertise or knowledge.

The Advertisement Guidelines will be applicable to all types of advertisements, and are intended to protect the rights of consumers (i.e. existing and prospective students) while allowing for competition among PEIs to differentiate their services.

Period of Consultation

This consultation exercise will last for three weeks, from 18 July 2011 to 7 August 2011.

The CPE welcomes the views and comments of PEIs and members of the public on the proposed requirements and code of conduct in the Advertisement Guidelines.

Feedback Channels

To enable us to better understand your feedback or comments, we seek your cooperation to observe the following when providing your inputs:
a. Identify yourself and the organisation you represent (if any), so that we may follow up to clarify any issues, if necessary;
b. Make your comments clear and concise;
c. Focus your comments on how the requirements or code of conduct could be improved or made clearer; and
d. As much as possible, explain your points with illustrations and examples.

There are a few ways to send your feedback or comments to us:-
a. By e-mail to CPE_public_consult@cpe.gov.sg
b. By fax to 6275 4636; or
c. By post to:
Council for Private Education
2 Bukit Merah Central #01-05
SPRING Building
Singapore 159835
(Please indicate “Feedback on Advertisement Guidelines” on the envelope.)

We encourage you to send your feedback or comments via e-mail as they will reach us faster and thus expedite the process of consideration. All submissions should be made on or before 5 pm, 7 August 2011.

Summary of responses

We regret that we will not be able to address or acknowledge every single feedback or comment we receive. However, we will consolidate and publish a summary of the key comments received, together with our responses, on the CPE website after the close of the consultation exercise. The summary will not disclose the identity of person(s) or organisation(s) providing the feedback or comments.

Draft Advertisement Guidelines for Private Education Institutions [PDF, 101 KB]

Table 1 [PDF, 25 KB]

Advertising Code for PEIs [PDF, 128 KB]