In a recent advisory to students, China's Education Ministry noted the unexpected closure of the UNSW Asia campus, located in Singapore.

It criticised UNSW Asia for its 'exaggerated' and 'false' claims about being rated among the world's top 50 universities.

The ministry said students should do their research before enrolling in schools set up by foreign institutions in another country.

It noted that there is a growing number of such schools which it said have 'varying standards'.

'In choosing a school or courses run by a foreign school in a third country, students should try to avoid schools which are unstable or have dubious quality.'

The ministry issues regular advisories to students and agents about educational institutions overseas.

When asked, Mr Bai Yan Lei, second secretary for education at the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, said no complaints have been received from the five or so Chinese students at UNSW Asia.

But the UNSW Asia issue, coupled with the closures of private schools like AIT Unicampus and Ritz Everton Academy, would inadvertently dim Singapore's allure as a study destination for Chinese students, he said.

'People would know only that a school here is closing down. They won't ask why,' he said in Mandarin.

There are about 33,000 Chinese students here, with a third of them in private schools. Their numbers have stayed about the same in the last 1-1/2 years.

China is the top source of international students worldwide, accounting for 343,126, or 14 per cent of international students in 2004, figures from the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (Unesco) show.

This is not the first time that China's education authorities have issued a warning about private schools here.

In December last year, it sent out a notice about seven private schools here which had been stripped of their CaseTrust status, a quality mark issued by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case).

Incidentally, one of these schools was Froebel Academy, which subsequently had its CaseTrust status restored, but made the news again last week after students and former lecturers lodged complaints against it.

The Ministry of Education here and Case are now looking into the Froebel matter.

In response, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), which promotes Singapore education abroad, said 'it is probable' that the UNSW Asia closure may have 'some initial impact'. But Singapore hosts some of the best educational institutions in the world, and 'continues to be an attractive education destination', said Ms Magdalene Lee, director of education services at STB.

When contacted by The Sydney Morning Herald, UNSW spokesman Judy Brookman said the Chinese government's warning was directed only at UNSW Asia. She also clarified that the UNSW Asia website had mentioned only that its Sydney campus was ranked 41st worldwide by a British newspaper.

hoaili@sph.com.sg