) or https:// as an added precaution.You have probably heard that education for Singaporeans in local Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs)1 is heavily subsidised by the Government. But what does that actually mean? What support is available for those who are concerned about tuition fees and other associated costs?
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What Types of Support Are Available?
In considering cost of higher education, apart from tuition fees, you may also worry about other expenses – such as your digital devices, meals on campus, and transport, just to name a few. MOE and the IHLs offer a range of financial support to help Singaporean students embarking on this phase of their education.
Government subsidies
The Government subsidises a large part of the cost (up to 90%) of delivering education in our IHLs. The remaining cost is paid by students as fees.
Financial support for fees and other education-related expenses is available through government bursaries, government loans, and individual IHL aid schemes.
Government bursaries
The Higher Education Community Bursary and Higher Education Bursary are available to students from lower- and middle-income families. From Academic Year (AY) 2026, this covers students with a gross monthly household income (GHI) of up to $12,000 or with gross monthly per capita income (PCI) of up to $3,000. Lower-income families receive more support.
From AY2026, students who qualify for the highest bursary tier* can receive the following support:
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*GHI ≤ $4,000 per month or PCI ≤ $1,000 per month
Post-Secondary Education Account
Students can use available funds, if any, in their Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) to pay for their tuition fees and approved enrichment programmes, including overseas student programmes.
Higher Education Student Loan scheme
From 1 July 2026, students pursuing MOE-subsidised diploma, undergraduate or postgraduate programmes at publicly-funded post-secondary education institutions (PSEIs) 2 can apply for the new Higher Education Student Loan (HESL) scheme.3 This can cover up to 100% of the subsidised tuition fee if students take up both the base provision and means-tested balance fee coverage components of the HESL. Students can also tap on the means-tested living allowance loan component of the HESL for other education-related expenses, such as meals on campus, and transport between home and school.
In addition, full-time undergraduates at the autonomous universities may apply for the means-tested Overseas Student Programme component of the HESL to cover the cost of institution-approved overseas student programmes.
The HESL scheme is interest-free during the course of study. Interest will only start applying upon a student's graduation or leaving the institution. Students only need to start repaying the loans upon graduation or after leaving the institution. The maximum repayment period for the HESL scheme is 10 years.
Is There Support for Other School Materials, Laptops and Gadgets That May Be Necessary?
The Opportunity Fund (OF) scheme provides eligible Singaporean students studying in MOE-subsidised Higher Nitec courses at ITE, and MOE-subsidised diploma courses at the polytechnics, ITE, NAFA and LASALLE with financial assistance for overseas trips, local enrichment programmes, and purchases of IT devices.
In addition, IHLs also offer their own range of student financing schemes in partnership with the community and donors.
For Students in Need, Fees Can Even Be $0, After Financial Support.
How much support you receive will depend on your household income and institution of study. You may wish to check with your institution for details. Here are some examples:
Click here to view the full infographic
Click here to view the full infographic
Click here to view the full infographic
For more information, visit here:
Bursaries (go.gov.sg/moe-financial-assistance-pseis)
Post-Secondary Education Account (go.gov.sg/moe-psea1)
Higher Education Student Loan Scheme (https://go.gov.sg/moe-hesl)
Footnotes
- Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) refer to the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), the five polytechnics – Singapore Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and the six autonomous universities (Aus) – National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore University of Technology and Design and Singapore University of Social Sciences.
- Post-Secondary Education Institutions (PSEIs) refer to Institute of Technical Education (ITE), polytechnics, autonomous universities, LASALLE College of the Arts (LASALLE), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), and University of the Arts Singapore (UAS).
- The Higher Education Student Loan (HESL) scheme will replace the existing government loan schemes – Tuition Fee Loan (TFL), Study Loan (SL) and Overseas Student Programme Loan (OSPL). PSEIs will stop accepting new TFL, SL and OSPL applications before 1 June 2026. New applicants should check with their institution regarding the respective cut-off dates for new applications. Students who wish to apply for a loan after the cut-off dates can apply for the HESL from 1 July 2026 via the new StudentLoanSG portal.