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Parliamentary Replies - 19 Apr 2005 Tuition Fee Grants for Undergraduates
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Assoc Prof Ong Soh Khim (Nominated Member)
Question
To ask the Minister for Education (a) why the difference in tuition fee grants between a local and a foreign undergraduate is only $590 per year; (b) how does the Ministry justify the tuition fee grant of $12,830 per foreign student regardless of their affordability; (c) whether the Ministry can explain why there is no means-testing when awarding the $12,830 grant per foreign student when means-testing is applied when awarding CCC-university bursary and study loans to Singapore students.
Response
The Ministry has, since 1997, set the fee differential between a local and a foreign undergraduate at 10%. (Prior to 1997, foreign undergraduates paid 50%-100%[1] more fees than local undergraduates). Our tuition fee policy for foreign students is linked to our objective of attracting bright foreign students to study in our universities, which will increase our talent pool. We need to recognise that we are competing for top students with other universities in the region and beyond. Any fee which is higher, coupled with a high cost of living in
The Ministry has been heavily subsidising foreign students to study in our three universities. Such a move has its benefits. Foreign students add to the vibrancy of the universities’ learning environment by providing diversity and alternative perspectives, given their different cultural and social backgrounds. This enriches the university education and experience of our local undergraduates, and ultimately adds to the international standing of our universities. Foreign students who receive subsidy from the Government will have to serve a 3-year bond upon graduation by working in
In providing a subsidised university education to foreign students, our universities have ensured that only the best students are admitted, based on stringent admission criteria. Those who matriculated are of high calibre and serve to intellectually spur our local students. This is a good development.
Our universities have come a long way and have gained much reputation since 1997. Today, foreign students constitute 20% of the universities’ enrolment, compared to about 12% in the late 1990s. As I have said at this year’s Committee of Supply debate, there is room for MOE to explore how we can set differentiated fees for different types of foreign students. But, this would have to be done after taking into consideration the larger strategic objectives for the universities and
On the question of means-testing for tuition grant for foreign students, Prof Ong might want to distinguish between the tuition grant and the bursaries and study loans. The bursaries and the study loans are means-tested as they are only provided to needy students[2]. On the other hand, the tuition grant, which is not means-tested, is given to the universities so that they would be adequately resourced to maintain and improve their standards, and this will help to meet the larger strategic objective of attracting foreign talents by keeping the foreign students’ fees competitive and affordable.
Foreign Undergraduate Students
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Assoc Prof Ong Soh Khim (Nominated Member)
Question
To ask the Minister for Education with regard to foreign undergraduate students who are subsidized with a tuition fee grant of $12,830 per year and who make up about 20% of our universities’ enrolment, (a) how many of these students are from our lower-income neighbouring countries; and (b) how many have since returned to their home countries after finishing their 3-year service bonds in Singapore.
Response
The majority of foreign undergraduates who receive tuition grant subsidies from the Government are from
While we do not track those who have left after serving their tuition grant bonds, more than 60% of those who were admitted to our universities between 1996 and 1999[3] have become Permanent Residents or
[1] Prior to 1997, students from ASEAN countries and other foreign students paid 1.5 times and twice the fees of local students, respectively. [2]The Government also provides the Tuition Fee Loan (TFL) as a form of financial assistance to students. The TFL is not means-tested and is open to all full-time local and foreign students. [3]As foreign students admitted after 2000 are likely to be still serving out their 3-year bonds since they would have only graduated recently, only statistics for 1999 intake figures and before are available. |
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