| Board of Governors and Senate |
5.—(1) The Board of Governors consists of the following members:| (a) | a Chairperson; | | (b) | a Deputy Chairperson; | | (c) | the Principal; | | (d) | such other persons, not being less than 9 or more than 15. |
| (2) Every member of the Board, except the Principal, is appointed by the Minister and, unless the Minister otherwise directs, holds office for a period of 3 years from the date of the appointment and is eligible for re‑appointment. |
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6.—(1) The Board must administer the affairs of the Polytechnic other than those vested by the Act or this Constitution in some other authority of the Polytechnic or in an officer.(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Board, subject to the provisions of the Act and this Constitution, has power —| (a) | to administer and manage the finances, accounts, investments, property, business and all affairs of the Polytechnic, and for that purpose to appoint bankers, counsel, solicitors and such officers or agents as it may be expedient to appoint; | | (b) | to invest the moneys of the Polytechnic in accordance with the standard investment power of statutory bodies as defined in section 33A of the Interpretation Act 1965; | | (c) | to purchase, grant, sell, convey, assign, surrender and yield up, exchange, partition, mortgage, demise, re‑assign, transfer and accept leases of real and personal property on behalf of the Polytechnic; | | (d) | to provide the buildings, premises, furniture, apparatus and other means needed for the Polytechnic; | | (e) | to borrow money on behalf of the Polytechnic and for that purpose to mortgage all or any part of the property of the Polytechnic, whether real or personal, or give such other security, whether upon such real or personal property or otherwise, as it thinks fit; | | (f) | to enter into, vary, carry out and cancel contracts on behalf of the Polytechnic; | | (g) | to publish books and other matters on behalf of the Polytechnic; | | (h) | in consultation with the Senate to review the instruction and teaching at the Polytechnic; | | (i) | to cooperate with other polytechnics and authorities for the regulation and conduct of examinations, for the examination and inspection of schools and other academic institutions, for the extension of Polytechnic teaching and for other purposes; | | (j) | to propose to the Minister additions to, or the amendment or repeal of any of the provisions of, this Constitution; | | (k) | to prescribe fees and other charges, including charges for the late payment of any such fee or charge; [Act 4 of 2008 wef 01/04/2024] | | (l) | to appoint officers, lecturers and other employees and to determine their duties and to fix their remuneration and the terms and conditions of their appointments; | | (m) | to appoint committees within or outside Singapore to select candidates for any office to which the Board may appoint; | | (n) | to delegate any of its powers to any members of the Board or to any committee of the Board or to any officer, lecturer or other employee of the Polytechnic; and | | (o) | to do all such other acts and things as may be requisite to give effect to the powers conferred on the Board by the Act or this Constitution. |
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(3) The Board may by regulations provide for any of the following matters or purposes:| (a) | the administration of the affairs of the Polytechnic; | | (b) | the appointment, promotion, conduct, disciplinary control, dismissal and termination of service of the officers, lecturers and other employees of the Polytechnic; | | (c) | the welfare, discipline, suspension and expulsion of students; | | (d) | the form of contracts; | | (e) | the publications of the Polytechnic; | | (f) | fees and other charges, including charges for the late payment of any such fee or charge; [Act 4 of 2008 wef 01/04/2024] | | (g) | the prescribing of anything which is by the Act or this Constitution to be prescribed by regulations made by the Board; | | (h) | generally all matters which by the Act or this Constitution the Board is empowered to regulate. |
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| (4) All such regulations come into operation on the day on which they are made unless otherwise provided by the Board. |
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| Vacation of office of member of Board |
7.—(1) The Minister may revoke the appointment of a member of the Board, except that of the Principal, if the member becomes in the opinion of the Minister unfit to continue in office or incapable of performing the member’s duties.| (2) A member of the Board, except the Principal, may resign from his or her appointment by giving written notice to the Minister. |
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| Filling of vacancy in office of member of Board |
| 8. If the office of a member of the Board, other than that of the Principal, is vacant, the Minister may appoint any person to fill the vacancy and the person must be appointed for the remainder of the term of the person’s predecessor. |
9.—(1) The Chairperson must summon meetings of the Board as often as may be required.| (2) The quorum at every meeting of the Board is 6 members. |
| (3) Every decision at a meeting of the Board is to be adopted by a simple majority of the votes of the members present and voting except that, in the case of an equality of votes, the Chairperson or, in his or her absence, the Deputy Chairperson of the Board has a casting vote. |
| (4) The Chairperson or, in his or her absence, the Deputy Chairperson presides at a meeting of the Board. |
| (5) In the absence of the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson at a meeting of the Board, such member as the members present may elect presides at the meeting. |
| (6) The Board may grant leave of absence from a meeting of the Board to a member of the Board. |
| (7) The Board is not precluded from holding a meeting or acting in any matter merely by reason of any vacancy in its membership. |
| (8) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution and the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, the Board may make standing orders to regulate its own procedure. |
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10.—(1) The Senate consists of —| (a) | the Principal, who is the chairperson; | | (b) | the heads of the Schools; | | (c) | such number of officers of the Polytechnic to be appointed by the Board; and | | (d) | such number of lecturers as may be determined by the Board to be elected by all the lecturers. |
| (2) The Senate must meet at least twice in each semester of every academic year and such other times as may be necessary. |
| (3) The quorum of the Senate is the smallest number which is not less than one‑quarter of the number of members for the time being. |
| (4) The chairperson of the Senate may require any officer, lecturer or other employee of the Polytechnic to attend a meeting of the Senate. |
| (5) The Registrar is the secretary to the Senate and is not, unless the Registrar is appointed as a member of the Senate, entitled to vote on any question before the Senate. |
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11.—(1) Subject to the provisions of the Act and this Constitution and to the availability of the funds provided by the Board, the Senate has power —| (a) | to provide courses of study for the diplomas, certificates and other awards by the Polytechnic and any other courses of study that may be thought desirable, to direct and regulate the instruction and education in the Polytechnic, to stimulate the advancement of knowledge by research and publications and to direct the manner in which examinations are conducted; | | (b) | to determine what examinations and courses of study in other polytechnics or places of learning are deemed equivalent to examinations and courses of study in the Polytechnic; | | (c) | to advise the Board on the provision of facilities for educational and other academic matters; | | (d) | to decide in accordance with this Constitution and regulations which persons have qualified for the award of diplomas, certificates and other marks of distinction; | | (e) | to organise the Schools; | | (f) | to fix the time, mode, and conditions of competition for, and to award, fellowships, scholarships, and other educational endowments and prizes in accordance with the terms thereof; | | (g) | to require any student on academic grounds to terminate his or her studies at the Polytechnic; | | (h) | to provide lectures and courses of study for persons who are not registered students; | | (i) | to advise the Board on any matter which may be referred to the Senate by the Board; | | (j) | to delegate any of its powers to any member of the Senate or any committee of the Senate or to any officer or teacher of the Polytechnic; and | | (k) | to do all such other acts and things as may be requisite to give effect to the powers conferred on the Senate by the Act and this Constitution. |
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| Regulations made by Senate |
12.—(1) The Senate may by regulations provide for any of the following matters or purposes:| (a) | the admission and registration of students; | | (b) | the conditions for the award of degrees, diplomas, certificates and other marks of distinction; | | (c) | courses of study and examinations; | | (d) | academic dress; | | (e) | the award of scholarships and other educational endowments and prizes; | | (f) | the conduct of examinations; | | (g) | the prescribing of anything which is by the Act or this Constitution to be prescribed by regulations made by the Senate; | | (h) | the prescribing of conditions under which persons may be exempted from the provisions of any regulation made by the Senate; | | (i) | generally all matters which by the Act or this Constitution the Senate is empowered to regulate. |
| (2) All such regulations must be reported to the Board and come into operation not earlier than one semester after the day on which they are made, unless otherwise approved by the Board. |
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