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EDUN N25-02-004

05801

18 Oct 2001

MOE'S OFF-BUDGET MEASURES FOR STUDENTS AND GRADUATES OF PUBLICLY-FUNDED LOCAL INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING

1.      As part of the Government's second package of off-budget measures announced by DPM Lee Hsien Loong at Parliament on 12 Oct 2001, the Ministry of Education has worked out the following three measures to help university and polytechnic students and graduates who have been affected by the current economic slow-down:

Tuition fee freeze for undergraduate and polytechnic courses

2.      The Academic Year (AY) 2002 tuition fees for undergraduate and polytechnic courses will be frozen at the AY2001 levels:

a. $5,650 for undergraduate laboratory and non-laboratory courses at NUS and NTU;

b. $16,200 for undergraduate medical/dental courses at NUS;

c. $1,950 for polytechnic courses.

3.      Tuition fees for foreign students will continue to be set at 1.1 times the local rates for undergraduate and polytechnic courses.

1-year suspension of Tuition Fee Loan and Study Loan repayment

4.      University and polytechnic graduates who have taken up loans under the Tuition Fee Loan (TFL) scheme and/or Study Loan (SL) scheme will be given a 1-year suspension of their TFL and SL repayments.

5.      The loan repayment suspension will take effect from 1 Nov 2001 to 31 Oct 2002 for both schemes. During this period, the loan repayment will be suspended and no interest will be levied on any outstanding loan from 1 Nov 2001 until 31 Oct 2002.

6.      All university and polytechnic graduates who have taken up either or both of the schemes will be eligible. These include graduates who are a) already servicing their loans or b) going to start their repayments before 31 Oct 2002.

7.      All university and polytechnic graduates who have taken loans under the TFL and SL schemes are given an automatic suspension of the loan repayments.

1-year suspension of tuition grant bond

8.      Non-Singaporean graduates of Government-funded local institutions¹ who are recipients of the tuition grant during their course of study will be considered for a 1-year suspension of their tuition grant bonds upon application to MOE's Tuition Grant Unit (TGU).