The Council of Private Education (CPE) Singapore has signed a memorandum of cooperation with Australia's Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, to ensure quality assurance in Australian degree programmes offered here.

Australian universities offer the most number of external degree programmes in Singapore.

In 2011, there were 23 Australian universities collaborating with the private education institutions here, offering more than 400 external degree programmes.

As part of the agreement, the two bodies will exchange information and draw on each other's expertise to ensure that the local private education sector stays competitive.