The entrepreneur behind the Stansfield Group views aiding students who face difficulties along the path to achieving a tertiary education as a fundamental mission of the education company he established. Mr. Kannappan Chettiar, the founder and chief learning officer of the Stansfield Group, highlighted this in a recent interview with TODAY, emphasizing the importance of changing mindsets toward individuals who pursue degree courses through private institutions after encountering challenges in O and A-level grades.
Mr. Chettiar is recognized as one of Singapore's most successful private degree and language educators, having expanded Stansfield into an establishment catering to 4,000 students across its various institutions. The group achieved a net profit of $12 million last year and has sustained an annual growth rate of 25 percent since its inception in 1993. Stansfield's educational offerings span from O and A-level courses to degree programs from the University of London (UOL) through Stansfield College and the Singapore Institute of Commerce.
Looking ahead, Mr. Chettiar, honored as the Rotary-Asme Top 10 Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002, shared that the Stansfield Group is venturing into broader horizons. He aims to advance a concept termed "borderless education," where Stansfield College will enable students to pursue exchange programs across three colleges situated in India, China, and Singapore. This initiative begins with the establishment of a Stansfield College campus in Chennai, India, next month, followed by another in Beijing the following year. This strategic move facilitates students in obtaining a comprehensive academic experience and cultural immersion in various countries.
Presently, foreign students constitute 1,500 of the 4,000 students enrolled in Stansfield institutions. Approximately 60 percent of these students hail from China, with the remainder from India and Vietnam. Mr. Chettiar elucidated that the plan revolves around utilizing Singapore as a base and exemplifying it as a model for overseas students, imparting values such as honesty, openness in governance, and transparency to law and business students.
The comprehensive exchange program will encompass airfare and hostel accommodations. Highlighting the significance of this initiative, Mr. Chettiar emphasized that China and India, being highly populated countries with elevated unemployment rates, are the targeted nations. Stansfield aims to add value by offering overseas students exposure to Singapore at an affordable cost. While a degree program in London might range from $60,000 to $90,000, studying for a UOL degree in Singapore would cost only $21,000.
