International students who have defaulted on their tuition grant bond obligation

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Png Eng Huat ,Hougang

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the number of international students who have defaulted on their tuition grant bond obligation in the last three years; (b) what is the amount of grants given to these defaulting students; and (c) what are the results of the recovery efforts made.

Response

1. The proportion of defaulters is currently about 4% over the last three years. The grant amount to this group of international students is about $5.5 million annually.

2. For this small proportion of defaulters, MOE takes a serious view. It is not just a matter of money, but also honour and trust. We have managed to recover from a few, and we will continue to make suitable recovery efforts. For those who fail to pay their liquidated damages, we will also take actions to prevent them from working or residing in Singapore.