Long-Term Financial Sustainability of Autonomous Universities Amid Evolving Global Competition

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Dr Choo Pei Ling, Chua Chu Kang GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (i) how the Singapore's autonomous universities are ensuring long-term financial sustainability amid evolving global competition; and (ii) whether current funding structures provide sufficient resilience in more volatile international environments.

Response

1. The operating and capital costs of our Autonomous Universities (AUs) are funded substantially by the Government. The Government also provides matching grants for donations raised by the AUs to help them up build their endowment funds. Investment returns from these endowments provide AUs with additional funding. As autonomous entities, the AUs also have flexibility to borrow from the capital market to finance other initiatives.

2. The AUs are also conscious of the need to manage their costs to help ensure their long-term financial sustainability. They do this through measures such as manpower optimisation, process enhancement, and digital transformation.

3. Collectively, the various funding sources, along with continued efforts by the AUs to manage their costs, provide financial stability and resilience to the AUs and allow them to respond effectively to the evolving global competition.