Press Releases
Greater Choice, More Room to Excel - Committee on the Expansion of the University Sector Releases Preliminary Report
A new publicly-funded university will be established to provide the bulk of the additional university places so that 30% of the cohort can enjoy subsidised university education by 2015. The existing universities will continue to provide high quality education for their students, with new and enhanced programmes in the works. These were among the recommendations in the preliminary report of the Committee on the Expansion of the University Sector, released today. The report will be discussed by the Ministry of Education’s International Academic Advisory Panel (IAAP) when it meets from 25 to 27 Jun 2008.
The Committee’s recommendations aim to create a more robust and diverse university sector in Singapore, with students benefiting from an expanded range of options for higher education. Niche areas will also be catered to through the polytechnics in partnership with foreign specialised institutions and through selected high-quality independent degree-awarding institutions in Singapore. The expansion of the university sector will create additional capacity to cater to a larger number of Singaporeans while continuing to take a healthy proportion of international students.
Key Recommendations
A New Publicly-Funded University
The Committee recommends that a new publicly-funded university be established to provide the bulk of the additional university places required to achieve the target 30% cohort participation rate. The new university could cater to an annual intake of about 2,000–2,500 students at steady state.
As announced at the Committee of Supply Debate 2008, the Committee proposes that the new university emphasise interdisciplinary learning, provide opportunities for students to apply their learning within a real-world environment, and nurture a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in its students. The Committee also affirms its recommendation that the new university begins by offering disciplines in (i) Design and Architecture, (ii) Engineering and Applied Sciences, and (iii) Business and Information Technology, and adopting an integrated approach centred on these disciplines.
Evolution and Enhancement of Existing Universities
The Committee recognises the progress made by the existing universities to build up the quality of their undergraduate education and develop new peaks of excellence. It supports the aspirations of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to develop into world-class research institutions. It also supports NUS and NTU’s efforts to further enhance their undergraduate education programmes. In particular, NUS plans to establish a Two-Track Engineering programme aimed at training Specialist Engineers and Engineer Leaders. NTU plans to develop a new interdisciplinary Premier Engineering Programme to enhance the appeal of engineering, particularly for top students.
The Committee also supports the Singapore Management University’s plans to expand its undergraduate intake to about 2,000 students through a broadening of its disciplinary offerings, while maintaining its distinctive seminar-style pedagogy and focus on social science disciplines.
Liberal Arts Education
The Committee acknowledges the value of a liberal arts education in nurturing independent and critical thinkers who can go on to become leaders in different fields. It recommends that consideration be given to the introduction of liberal arts education in Singapore. NUS has proposed to establish a liberal arts college (LAC) as an autonomous institution under the NUS umbrella. The Committee recognises the merits of NUS’ proposal and recommends a deeper study of issues pertaining to the LAC, such as a possible partnership and funding model.
Niche Degree Programmes
While the university landscape should continue to be anchored in the publicly-funded universities, which will provide the bulk of subsidised university places in Singapore, there is scope to provide more opportunities for students to pursue degrees in niche areas not presently offered as publicly-funded degree programmes. This will complement the demand in strategic sectors of our economy. To this end, the Committee supports the efforts of polytechnics to explore more tie-ups with specialised institutions to offer niche degree programmes.1 The number of places available through such tie-ups can grow beyond the current target of 460 by 2010 to 700 in the longer term.
The Committee also recommends that the Government consider funding a limited number of students taking up bachelor degree programmes in high-quality independent degree-awarding institutions in Singapore, such as those brought in by EDB under its Global Schoolhouse Initiative. Such funding should support Singapore’s manpower needs and overall economic strategies.
Conclusion
In growing the subsidised university participation rate from 25% to 30% by 2015, the Committee emphasises that the supply of graduates should continue to be aligned with the demands of our economy, both in terms of numbers and skills, so that our graduates will continue to enjoy good employability. The Committee also recommends that the institutions in our university sector should continue to maintain and enhance the current high standards of education and admissions.
After the IAAP has provided its comments to the Committee’s recommendations, the Committee will submit its final report and recommendations to the Government for consideration in July 2008.
Background
The Committee began work in September 2007, after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the Government’s commitment to increase the target cohort participation rate to 30% by 2015 at the 2007 National Day Rally. The Committee is chaired by Senior Minister of State for Education RAdm (NS) Lui Tuck Yew and comprises members from the private and public sector as well as academia. Dr Tony Tan, Chairman of the Ministry of Education’s International Academic Advisory Panel (IAAP), serves as advisor to the Committee.
The Committee has studied the university landscapes and institutional models of universities in other countries, and has held focus group discussions with students, alumni, parents and industry. The preliminary recommendations of the Committee were debated in Parliament at the Committee of Supply Debate in March 2008.
Footnotes
- Since 2007, five degree programmes have been launched under the Poly-FSI framework. These have been in the areas of early childhood education, retail management, naval architecture, food technology and creative producing. ↵