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Enhancing the Affordability of Higher Education

Published Date: 03 February 2023 10:00 AM

News Press Releases

1. The Ministry of Education (MOE) will raise the bursary quanta for eligible diploma and undergraduate Singaporeans studying in post-secondary education institutions (PSEIs)1 from Academic Year (AY) 2023, with students from lower income households to benefit from the largest increase.

2. This enhancement follows the revision in income eligibility criteria for MOE financial assistance schemes and increase in government bursary quanta for full-time Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students announced in October 2022.2 These initiatives seek to enhance the affordability of higher education for all Singaporeans, and ensure that every student, regardless of family circumstance, is able to reach his or her full potential in life.

Enhanced Bursary Quanta for Full-Time and Part-Time Diploma Students and Undergraduates (Excluding Medicine and Dentistry) from AY2023

3. With the enhanced bursaries, full-time Singaporean diploma students from lower income families who qualify for the highest bursary tier will benefit from bursaries valued at about 95% of their subsidised tuition fees, while full-time Singaporean undergraduates (excluding those from Medicine and Dentistry courses) from lower income families who qualify for the highest bursary tier will benefit from bursaries valued at about 75% of their subsidised tuition fees. Part-time diploma students and undergraduates will also benefit from higher bursary quanta from AY2023. The details of the enhancements are below:

Table 1: Current and enhanced bursary quanta for full-time diploma students and undergraduates* from AY2023

Government Bursary Revised Income Eligibility Criteria from AY2023 Annual Bursary Amount for Diploma students for AY2022 Annual Bursary Amount for Diploma students from AY2023 Annual Bursary Amount for Under-graduates for AY2022 Annual Bursary Amount for Under-graduates from AY2023
Higher Education Community Bursary GHI3 ≤ $3,000 or PCI4 ≤ $750 $2,750 $2,950 $6,200 $6,300
GHI $3,001-$4,400 or PCI $751-$1,100 $2,400 $2,600 $5,000 $5,100
Higher Education Bursary
 GHI $4,401-$7,500 or PCI $1,101-$1,875 $1,900 $2,000 $3,200 $3,250
GHI $7,501-$10,000 or PCI $1,876-$2,500 $850 $900 $1,350 $1,350

*Excluding Medicine and Dentistry students

Table 2: Current and enhanced bursary quanta for part-time diploma students and undergraduates from AY2023

Government Bursary Revised Income Eligibility Criteria from AY2023 Annual Bursary Amount for Diploma students for AY2022 Annual Bursary Amount for Diploma students from AY2023 Annual Bursary Amount for Under-graduates students for AY2022 Annual Bursary Amount for Under-graduates from AY2023
Higher Education Bursary GHI ≤$4,400 or PCI ≤$1,100 $800 $850 $2,500 $2,550
GHI $4,401-$7,500 or PCI $1,101-$1,875 $660 $710 $1,600 $1,650
GHI $7,501-$10,000 or PCI $1,876-$2,500 $300 $320 $700 $720

Bursary Quanta for Full-Time Medicine and Dentistry Undergraduates from AY2023

5. Eligible Singaporean Medicine and Dentistry undergraduates currently benefit from higher government bursaries, taking into account their significantly higher tuition fees. This is supplemented by significant financial assistance by the universities where needed. For the AY2023 intake, government bursaries will be retained at the same level as that for the AY2022 intake. With a combination of a government bursary and university aid, a Medicine or Dentistry undergraduate who qualifies for the highest bursary tier will only need to pay up to $5,000 per annum in tuition fees in AY2023, same as in AY2022. More details on the bursaries are below.

Table 3: Government bursary quanta for NUS/NTU Medicine and Dentistry undergraduates in AY2023

Revised Eligibility Criteria (effective AY2023) Annual Bursary Amount for AY2023 Intake Estimated Out-of-Pocket Expenses
After Govt + IHL Bursaries
GHI ≤ $3,000 or PCI ≤ $750 $20,200 (NUS)
$25,000 (NTU)		 ≤$5,000
GHI $3,001-$4,400 or PCI $751-$1,100 $16,200 (NUS)
$21,000 (NTU)		 ≈$5,000 - $10,000
GHI $4,401-$7,500 or PCI $1,101-$1,875 $12,200 (NUS)
$17,000 (NTU)		 ≈$10,000 - $15,000
GHI $7,501-$10,000 or PCI $1,876-$2,500 $6,200 (NUS)
$11,000 (NTU)		 ≈$20,000 - $24,000

6. The Government regularly reviews the bursaries for full-time and part-time subsidised Singaporean Citizen students at publicly-funded PSEIs, with the last enhancement made in AY2020. Together with the revised income eligibility criteria announced in October 2022, about 78,500 students in the PSEIs are expected to benefit from the enhanced bursary quanta in AY2023, up from 74,000 currently.


Footnotes

  1. Higher Education Community Bursary and Higher Education Bursary for Singaporean students at the Institute of Technical Education, polytechnics, Autonomous Universities, the National Institute of Early Childhood Development, and publicly-funded arts institutions (Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and LASALLE College of the Arts).

  2. https://www.moe.gov.sg/news/press-releases/20221014-more-than-10000-students-to-benefit-from-revised-income-criteria-for-moe-financial-assistance-schemes-and-increased-ite-bursary-quanta

  3. Monthly Gross Household Income (GHI)

  4. Per Capita Income (PCI)