3 local varsities raise fees for Singapore students again
March 19th, 2010 | 
Author: Written by Our Correspondent
After a near two year hiatus, the three Singapore universities – NUS, NTU and SMU have raised the school fees again amounting to hikes of between 3 and 18 per cent for this year’s cohorts.
When interviewed by the Straits Times, Professor Tan Eng Chy, Provost of NUS said:
“The new fees remain very competitive with international programmes of distinction. The Ministry of Education will continue to subsidise the larger part of the University’s operating and capital costs.”
NTU used the same reason and explained that “those in Business programmes pay higher fees because of its seminar-style format with extensive projects, which leads to higher operation and manpower costs.”
Though the state media is quick to highlight the increase in the fees for PRs and foreigners as well to “better differentiate” them from citizens, there was no mention if the number of scholarships awarded to foreigners by the three varsities will remain the same.
Singapore has been most generous to foreign students seeking to further their tertiary education in its universities especially if they are from China and India.
A myriad of scholarships offered by the Ministry of Education and various organizations cater to the needs of these foreign students with a number of them requiring no bonds.
Some like the Khoo Teck Phuat scholarship covers the tuition fees for the entire duration of study and includes accommodation and living allowances as well.
On the other hand, Singapore students have to borrow from the bank to finance their tertiary studies and some have to work part-time in order to support themselves.
Upon graduation, they will have to compete with foreign student scholars as well as cheap foreign workers for limited jobs in the market.
The foreign students have no outstanding bank loans and need not serve National Service thereby enabling them to get a headstart in life.
After earning enough money in Singapore, they can always choose to return back to their native countries like China and India while locals remain stuck here.
The discriminatory policies that the PAP has perpetuated against Singaporeans are unlikely to change much unless they are voted out of office.
In other developed countries like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, their governments will always take care of their own citizens first and foreigners last.
The order seems to be reversed in Singapore. It’s time for the PAP to change its name to “Foreigner Action Party” to better reflect its tremendous “contributions” to foreigners working, studying and living in Singapore.
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This is first class for Singapore to take care of foreigners and 3rd class treatment of its citizens. NS for the locals and Jobs for the foreigners. This is uniquely SINGAPORE!
smart move, man!
education cost increase without fail every year and most of the Singaporeans’ salaries are so very capped.
If the theoretical inflation rate does actually work, everyone of us should be able to stay afloat but its never aligned.
Salary (flat) – LIVING COST (inflation rate applies) – Education (3 to 10% annually if applicable) = Savings
The buffer for savings has slimmed down by a large proportion over the last few years whilst inflation has climbed.
My family have plans to move out of this country where the cost and incomes don’t match any more.
Any statistics on how many foreign scholarship say in a cohort of 2000?
There are many students hailed from China on scholarship as young as 15, 16 years. Their accommodation and food is fully paid for, with yearly return tickets, free textbooks, free school bus to school and even with monthly pocket money paid by MOE. They are even given at least 3 months of intensive English lesson before they enter the schools. I know MOM would conduct English lessons at this secondary school along Bartly Road (can’t remember the school name). Even provide PRC cooks to cook Chinese meals for the PRC students at the school. These students do not have to worry a single bit on finance because they are guaranteed they are well taken care of financially.
I have stayed in China for many years and I know how the system worked when MOE goes to China to pick “brilliant” students. They would first get in touch with the local education department and then go to the “重点” (i.e. good) schools to select students. When the news got out Singapore government is coming to pick students, parents, teachers, government officers would try their best to “push” their kids for interviews. Through different ways and means such as “relationship” and even through extreme cases of “wriggling with report book” the kids were presented to the Singapore personal that are in charge to pick so called “brilliant” ones. So you see some of the people we are getting are not the “true” brilliant kids. You will not be surprised in fact some of the PRCs studying in Singapore have quite a family background in China.
Singapore parents have to slave themselves to put kids to schools while those especially from China can get free education all the way to PHD with no ties to serve NS. I receive many resumes from NTU and NUS PRC scholarship students. These students all received a guaranteed PR letter from MOM if they can get a job within one year after they graduated. That makes me sick because our boys have to go through 2.5 years National Service whereas these foreigners do not contribute a dime to our economy and yet they are getting a head start.
If you take a tour to NTU or NUS, you will find that these two campuses have become a mini-PRC campus. NTU is worst. I would put a figure of at least 30% from PRC with many faculty also from China. Perhaps someone from NTU could enlighten me if I am wrong.
“those in Business programmes pay higher fees because of its seminar-style format with extensive projects, which leads to higher operation and manpower costs.”
Anyone studying in NTU business school will know that this is bullshit. Seminar-style education has nothing to do with extra operation and manpower costs, unless they actually do hire extra cleaners to clean the seminar rooms everyday. And lets not forget, extensive projects are done by students, not by the teachers. Why do students have to pay extra for doing “extensive” projects?
In the end, pay extra for NTU business courses, and their starting pay is still lower than NUS and SMU. So much for a top business school in Asia.
The only reason why NUS has achieved top-ranking is because they leverage of the tie-up programs with the Ivy league Universities in US under Prof Shih Choon Fong, who is now President of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia.
Without the tie-up program with overseas Universities NUS would not be able to achieved high ranking in such a short time.
the worst thing is having to serve NS – for NOTHING. and now spore students – two yrs behind their foreign peers – have to pay more money for education? what bollocks. the planners should all go eat shit.
Now this Increase of fees will constitute to the rise in cost of living for some at least for the next 3 to 4 years.
After paying the dues, the graduates still have to compete aggressively with foreigners (who may be educated in their home country where education is much taken care of by their government) for jobs.
However our own graduates will be accused of not being accommodating and flexible to the requirements of employers and have to be more productive (work more, pay less).
The foreigners are preferred as they are either cheaper or are more hard-striving.
Its like a parent who after raising their kids found that his neighbor’s kids are stronger and smarter than his own. So he invite them over to his own home and gave them the best room in the house and accord them the best treatment. In the meantime, he chided his own kids for being lazy, old, irrelevant to the new economy and house them in the store room.
That is responsible parenting?
Talking about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The economy had been the worse in history.
PMETs are struggling.
No end in sight.
Hike?
What justifies the hike?
Why need so much more money for Education service provider?
More importantly, who knows where this money eventually go to?
It is a plot to make more space for foreign student.
When less local can afford = vacancy = more space for foreign student = reason for foreign scholarship.
This is because tertiary education, not unlike many other things in Singapore, has been reduced into an industry whose worth is solely measured by how much GDP it can contribute.
More universities are opened here (5th university coming soon, in addition to all the partnership universities/programs with other institutes of higher learning.)
Consequently, in order to attract more foreign students(and more $$$), aggressive marketing is done. This aggressive marketing costs money, and tuition fees are raised indiscriminately to fund it.
I graduated from NUS some years ago, but I refuse to join the Alumni (pay to be a member) despite much pestering. I also enjoy reading the glossy ALUMNUS magazines it sends to me periodically – sometimes the articles it carries look identical to a PAP photo op.
It also has the cheek to ask for donations to help ‘needy students’, well, if you really wanted to help needy students, DON’T RAISE THE FEES IN THE FIRST PLACE!
NS and lifetime liabilities for Singaporeans!
Scholarships and jobs for foreigners!
PAP will rule forever!
Long live LKY!!
万岁, 万岁, 万岁, 万, 万, 岁!!
KC
“If you take a tour to NTU or NUS, you will find that these two campuses have become a mini-PRC campus. NTU is worst. I would put a figure of at least 30% from PRC with many faculty also from China. Perhaps someone from NTU could enlighten me if I am wrong.”
You are right, KC. My younger sis is studying at NTU now. She said there are so many PRC students from Faculty of Engineering. The canteens there are full with PRC students who talk loudly during lunch time. People will wonder are they in China or Spore.
Now with the increasing fee, my family’s burden become bigger. But with my father’s small salary and myself a diploma holder, we have to try very hard to save money for my sister tuition fee.
Hey…. we citizens need to see more affirmative actions to help our own boys and girls. How about help with extra tuition fees?? Help to get employers to employ S’poreans first??
“Death to the False Emperor!” Enuff said.
“” Though the state media is quick to highlight the increase in the fees for PRs and foreigners as well to “better differentiate” them from citizens, there was no mention if the number of scholarships awarded to foreigners by the three varsities will remain the same. “”
To really better differentiate citizens from the PRs & foreigners, juz increase only the PRs & foreigners fees ….
why muz increase the citizens especially real locals & not new citizens …Defeat the purpose ….
B S ….
The PAPaya is really stupid. They have totally lost citizen’s trust “失去民心”. Those new citizens are even more stupid. Still choose to become new citizen seeing how locals are being displaced…
Average 200m school fee per year in NUS/NTU. Raising by 5 percent increase only 10m. This added $ is negligible compared to NUS 677m investment lost in university’s endowment in 2009 and 1.3$Billion annual operating cost.
The source of the money is still from tax payer money through government. Without government support of 1$B over, these universities should have bankrupt. This is a typical example for economy lessons for the students in the school. Where is the cause of mismanagement or zero risk to push the blame to global crisis?
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20091201-183331.html
Shelter,education,healthcare and gainful employment should be the basic rights of any bona-fide ctizens especially citizens who want to work and can work!
“glc’” hospitals,whether ‘privatised’ or not,should provide meaningful cost differentials between citizens and non-citizens.
The same should be for education and of course,all companies operating out of Singapore,should logically consider to give priority to engage the services of the singaporean worker over a foreigner unless there are no suitable singaporean candidates to fill the positions.If not why have their branch or base in singapore?..you tell me…
It is only rational and wise for any government to import foreign workers if our own workforce cannot cope as when our economy is growing exponentially but not otherwise,or is it?
How I wish our ministers are not just smarter than most of us but also WISER!
To further differentiate between citizens, prs and foreigners? Then lower citizens fees, and increase them for prs and foreigners, instead of increasing for all.. Just another exercise to get more $…
We just need to keep reminding ourselves of these increases come GE day..
TR may want to check with your Service Provider.
Seems Posters’ username and their email address are cached and can be seen publicly.
For example I can poster username KC and his email address as (I will self-censor it a bit) manxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com
the left hand donch know what the right hand is doing.
How to procreate when you know the govt is going to raise the uni fees every year, when they can well afford to make education free for all Singapore kids with their multi billion reserves. Sometime you wonder that the govt is up to? Such confusing signals….
If you take a tour to NTU or NUS, you will find that these two campuses have become a mini-PRC campus. NTU is worst. I would put a figure of at least 30% from PRC with many faculty also from China. Perhaps someone from NTU could enlighten me if I am wrong
go everywhere in the world also see lots of prc, australia, uk, usa,…
Average 200m school fee per year in NUS/NTU. Raising by 5 percent increase only 10m. This added $ is negligible compared to NUS 677m investment lost in university’s endowment in 2009 and 1.3$Billion annual operating cost.
The source of the money is still from tax payer money through government. Without government support of 1$B over, these universities should have bankrupt. This is a typical example for economy lessons for the students in the school. Where is the cause of mismanagement or zero risk to push the blame to global crisis?
hello, stop giving free cash to prc, these $$ more than enough
If you look at the portfolio of our Minister of Education Ng Eng Heng, he holds not only Minister of Education position but also Second Minister for Defence. His background is a doctor.
A person without portfolio and background in Education and Defence holding two important positions, especially Minister of Education that is so crucial to the future generation of our young. In other countries, Education Minister would have at least a Master of Education Management background with many years teaching and education Management experiences. In Singapore we have a guy with virtually no credential in Education Management sitting in the most important role in MOE.
Think about it. That’s is why MOE is so screwed up bringing in so many so called “talented students” from China. With the exception of few, many are not “so talented” as MOE would expect them to be.
The money spent of PRC students would better spent to help cover students from poor families on food, textbooks, school bus and pocket money.
PAP made use of this to rake in more money by increasing the fees for not only the foreigners but locals as well.
PAP also increase the subsidies/ grants/ scholarships to foreigners who study here which the locals do not enjoy.
Yes TR – I can see the email address of “Singapore is a disgrace” too. Something is wrong and hope it has not compromised
万岁, 万岁, 万岁, 万, 万, 岁?
should be
万碎, 万碎, 万碎, 万, 万, 碎！
■burntbread on Fri, 19th Mar 2010 10:27 am – “You are right, KC. My younger sis is studying at NTU now. She said there are so many PRC students from Faculty of Engineering. The canteens there are full with PRC students who talk loudly during lunch time. People will wonder are they in China or Spore. ”
Spot on ! Not only that, try taking a walk along the corridor of the “professors” in NUS or NTU, and you’ll be amazed at how many “chinese professors” names there are on the doors. The varisities are not only flooded with PRC students, but PRC lecturers as well. WELCOME TO SINGACHINAPORE !
Kenneth Jayarathnam was right when he pointed out that our children’s education and our seniors’ medical care should be viewed as investment good rather than as an expenditure to be written off.
Throughout their lives, our seniors have contributed their fair share in nation building. Hence it is time for them to take a back seat right now to enjoy the fruits of their labour. As for our youngs, one day they will become the future of our nation. Don’t we want to take the responsibility to invest in educating our youngs in ensuring that they remain relevant and competitive on the international stage when they grow up?
Comeon, let’s for once stop talking about money, money, money!
If they can afford to lose big time with their daft investments on international stage, milking small money out of our youngs and olds really make them a true laughing stock to the rest of the world!
I once worked for NUS, a role which allows me to access cetain specific information not usually available to the average Joe..
It is noted that the amount of scholarships given to foreign students e.g. China and Indian students.
It appears that Singapore is dependent on foreign labor for survival. Next time our paliamenet will be filled with foreign talents too.
Foreigners making policies for Singaporeans. Foreigners dictating how Singaporean should live and behave in public.
By then, Their sons and daughters will migrate to Australia, NZ or USA & Eurpoe after their father retired using money earned by their father from Singapore.
And Average Tom Dick and Harry, will still be in SG ruled by foreigners. We are not only plundered by our own leaders but also raped by the foreign talent they brought in.
Well done!!!
I was most frustrated when I read (in the ST article) that one of the reasons used to justify the hikes was that the “economy has rebounded”. In saying that, the impact of the economic downturn on (specifically) students appears to have been largely ignored.
I’ll make an assumption: students are financially independent, and pay for their school fees. They obtain their cash through savings, or through working while studying (we ignore the option of student loans for now). If the former is the case, that means students now have to pay more with their savings; the economic upturn has not benefited them in this sense. If the latter is the case, how much of a difference would and does the upturn make to students’ salaries so that they can pay more school fees?
So here come a few questions of mine:
Are the majority of university students financially independent, or not? If yes, using the “rebounded economy” as a justification to fee hikes is probably unacceptable. If my explanation is reasonable, is the converse true (i.e. an economic downturn should not justify a lowering in fees or a putting off of fee hikes) too?
Also, in what ways, if any, would economic conditions largely affect students’ ability to pay for fees? Would students taking up loans be affected (perhaps higher interest rates on loans but that would just further restrict one’s ability to pay for hikes)? And how?
Someone please clear that up for me, and correct my misconceptions, if any. Thanks.
I agree with WTF …. the hypocrisy of NUS & NTU asking donations to help ‘needy students’. It is the institutions which created more needy students by raising the fees.
Why the hypocrisy? Now banks going to approve more loans to undergraduate or get parents to use CPF money to support child’s tuition fees?
Where is the heart of governance? Or is it money that talks now?
According to CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) web, Singapore ranked 14 in the list of countries that has a healthy current account of 26.2 billion dollars while most countries suffer deficit.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2187rank.html
Hope the MPs are not going to question CIA stats.
If the government can afford to lose billions of dollars in investments which it cited as unavoidable, can’t they spare the millions in tuition fees, social assistance and tax reliefs (can’t really find this in budget 2010)?
We didn’t expect that the very people we vote in years ago will approve the rise in cost of living in so many areas.
i would like NTU to explain how the increased fees for the biz students would be broken down, and why it costs more. it’s crap to me because in my postgrad courses, it;s all seminar-based and the prof dun even need to mark exams, just projects. u mean the profs get paid more for conducting seminars which are normally student-led?
the prc or indian lecturers cant speak english for nuts, all rubbish, and still charge more fees? why dun ask lee kuan yew to sit inside a few of those lectures conducted by the prcs and ask him if it’s the same as the cambridge experience? knn.
We have a defunct government that carries the mentality that investing in Singaporean students would bring no return but rather give out scholarships to foreign students especially from China.
Look around you besides the A*Star, PSB, EDB scholarships that we usually hear about, do you actually see any Singaporeans receiving scholarships from NUS and NTU all the way to PHD? The number is so huge that our universities are too embarrassed to release the figures.
I am sure those working in NUS and NTU would agree with me, except they are too afraid to spill the beans.
To correct, the number of “scholarships given to foreingers” is so huge that our universities are too embarrassed to release the figures.
SINhahaha: Cos government think that we serve 2 years NS can suppu back all the money given to us during NS. Cos serving your country is your DUTY. You should not be paid.
I learned of acse of a busness operation position, occupied by a young lady who was is from SiChuan China.
When she was in her Pre-U 3 (It is 3 years each for seconday and pre-U schools), 5 months before the final Pre-U 3 exam, EDB went to recruit talented student.
She applied using good results in two years in Pre-U, she got a scholarship and was sent to Singapore for 15 months of preparatiry study before getting a place in NUS.
She graduated with a degree in mass comm.
I am puzzled with this questions:
1) Is her high school offer better standard in study than out JCs?
2) She did not complete her high school and yet received scholarship from Singapore.
If govt can generoulsy fund her study, why are our students after stuggling in GCE A, getting A, B and C and yet are not assured a seat in local Uni ?
3) We need foreign talents, is a pre-U student in china more talented than our kids ?
4) Mass comm degree is NOT a specialized study compared to medicine, bio-medical, law , etc, why do govt have to spend tax payers’ money to offer non-citizen a place in local uni ?
5) And every two to three years, the tuition fee for local uni keep raising ?
And we call this place our natiin when govt treat us give better treatment to non-skilled foreigners ?
SINhahaha on Fri, 19th Mar 2010 9:43 am
the worst thing is having to serve NS – for NOTHING. and now spore students – two yrs behind their foreign peers – have to pay more money for education? what bollocks. the planners should all go eat shit.
My previous comment is for this post.
It’s your freaking duty to serve the country. DUN COMPLAIN! Oh, dun forget we still got reservist after NS. awesome leh. Waste money waste time. I think they can channel the defense budget into Singaporeans’ Welfare if they just remove the reservist system completely.
It not just about school fees. NUS brought recess week (a week without lessons that usually precedes exams) forward by a week this semester, supposedly for the benefit of foreign students who would have an extended break to visit their home countries. These foreign students would be the chinese, vietnamese and whatever nationality that celebrates chinese new year. FYI, Students from NTU and SMU were unaffected by this as their recess weeks were held as per normal, later in the semester.
for the sake of these foreign students, two days of the recess week was lost due to public holidays, which may seem a reasonable sacrifise for Singaporeans like myself who tries to be understanding. However, contrary to the administration’s guidelines, many professors scheduled mid-term exams, presentations and assignment deadlines the week after chinese new year week. A student may be faced with 4 deadlines after chinese new year.
Should the administration not use the objective of allowing foreign students( and probably faculty) to return home as a reason, singaporeans, especially the majority ethnic chinese Nus students would not be marginalized and have to sacrifise their precious time with family and friends for the preparation of exams or face poor results.
Hence, Singaporeans are not merely affected financially but put at a disadvantage in situations like these, whether directly or indirectly.
Sorry for many typo errors in previous post
In enxt election, we must hold ruling party
1) accountable of how Temasek lose the investment funding diverted from our CPF saving
2) How do they classify foreign talents and how much our nation have spend on these foreign in education
3) A breakdown of new jobs created in Singapore, of which how many go to foreigners, PR or expats, or employment pass holders
4) a Breakdown on how many mid and high positions go to foreigners, PR, expats, etc
5) Why can loacl citizen use own CPF for post grad study when govt spend easy money to educate foreigners
5) Among the unemployment, what are their age and educational backgrounds ?
Why are they not getting jobs when we open door to foreigners !?
The instant-tree mentality must be stopped.
We must gain back our own nation !
in England, the prof are brits.
the fee increases is way too high.
in Hk, if you are local, you pay 2K for university fee a year.
the pigs have enslaved the nation.
@KC,
totally agree with you. How come this ‘doctor’ can land
himself in the MOE, is anybody’s guess,except himself!!
This is not the only case of ’square peg in round hole’
There are other ministers also in similar positions!!
This goes to show that there are Actually no real talents in the PAP outfit!! And that’s why we see all the messes.
Look at MND, look at MOH,look at MOT,look at MCYS, the list
goes on!! And yet they are paying themselves $$millions and
they called themselves ‘elites’ of the First World!! OMG!!!
Good !
We enjoy seeing pap continue with their special treatment to these new citizens and FT and students
@George washington on Fri, 19th Mar 2010 2:05 pm
What you saw is very common nowadays. These so called “talented” scholarship students from China after getting free education, landed jobs that most Singaporeans could do, nothing extraordinary. They call themselves scholars but when they are in the job market they know their abilities do not shine compare to many other Singaporeans.
It is a complete flop policy of god knows who idea that came out with mass importing China “talented” students to come to study here on scholarship, as early as secondary three and all the way up to PHD. Whereas we don’t see PAP so generous with the locals here. I think the government is slowly realising but being rhino skin it would be hard for them to totally withdraw the importing “China talent” policy.
PAP should stop funding PRC students and concentrating on nurturing local students. We have many good students right at our doors and yet PAP does not treasure them. Their mentality is with more foreingers in the school it could help to nurture a more competitive environment. By being competitive does not mean we have to mass import foreign students. There are many others ways and all they need think out of the box.
Imagine if this would happen in western countries, the ruling party would have been kicked out long time ago. I came to the conclusion to protect local students we need to kick out PAP.
“NTU used the same reason and explained that “those in Business programmes pay higher fees because of its seminar-style format with extensive projects, which leads to higher operation and manpower costs.”
Extensive projects? so what? i’m still an undergrad in Nanyang biz school, and i don’t see why seminar style will raise ops cost. Even with the lecture system, ultimately, there’ll be still tutorial classes conducted twice a week. Seminars simply do away with lectures, but that’s about all.
And someone above mentioned mini-China in NTU. Hell yeah, just walk through the engineering blocks and you’ll realized they are like EVERYWHERE. It’s not so bad in the business, humanities, comms and art school, but engin schools are flooded by them.
The Universities should release the number of scholarships they gave out each year and the amount they are subsidising to foreign students especially PRCs, before they increase the fees.
If they want to increase by all means do it to foreigners, not Singaporeans.
Also LTA(Land Transport Authority). They let Yam Ah Mee, a military trash, take charge of LTA. What happened? More ERP gantries. Roads still crowded.
They are all empty suits who will not hack it in the private sector – the REAL WORLD.
Tertiary education is too commercialized these days – it’s now the ‘education industry’ or ‘education hub’. Fifth uni coming soon. No more about instilling wisdom and knowledge. And not surprisingly, foreign students generate much revenue for these universities. It also creates business for dorms and hostels.
If I am not wrong most of the foreign U students studying in the three local U are scholarship holders. Hence, I guess the increase in fees don’t really affect these foreigners at all. To be able to get into the three local U, these foreigners must obviously be top students in their respective countries. Hence getting sponsorship/scholarship from local companies or even the government is not a problem for them. In my view, the increased in fees for the three local U will affect the locals more the FTs.
@Old,Jobless and Poor on Fri, 19th Mar 2010 5:31 pm
You are right. There are many foreign students studying in these 3 universities especially from China do not pay a dime in school fees. The foreigners that can afford will not be much affected because the fees is afterall cheaper than many western countries. Those that most affected is actually Singaporeans.
The Indonesian Wajaja sucidal student in NUS. This leturer fro PRC can’t speak fluent English.What a Hell!!!!!!!
PAP OWE SINGAPOREAN A CLEAR EXPLANATION ON HOW THEY WASTE OUR TAX PAYERS’ MONEY AND YET DENY THE NATIVES DAUGHTERS AND SONS TO HAVE UNI EDUCATION !!
I pity the present generation of university students as the despicable higher powers have just risen their university fees to nearly $10K per year.
After graduation, the graduates would be saddled with $30K – $40K loans immediately. With the mass influx of fallen talents flooding our tiny red dot, how can these poor graduates expect to find a job and pay off their loans, start a family etc?
I graduated from NUS with at IT degree 7 years ago and my starting salary was $1800. I struggled for 3.5 years to pay off my $16K – $17K school loans. How long can graduates hope to pay off their $40K loans with their meager $2000 – $2500 salary?? 10 years??
Temasek Review! I implore you to compile a list of the mistakes and empty promises that the government has said when General Elections are near so that amnesiac Singaporeans will be shown the correct path to take!
Singaporeans! Please use your vote wisely!
Singapore male not only have a later head start after graduation but also sadden with loans. Foreigners with scholarship, not only will not need to serve NS but also free of debts.
And our government expects us to just shut up and be daft.
the worst thing is that all this period the PM and Nathan and even lao lee (what happened to him really?) have all gone missing! never come out and explain the new policies. now fees raised, what next? GST 20%? it’s not impossible – in the EU GST can be as high as 19%!
As a public university, local universities are very expensive when compare to developed countries like Japan and USA. PAP likes to compare our university tuition fee with the private univerisities in these two countries but totally not the right comparison. In fact, our universities are at least 100% more expensive than Japan’s public university like Tokyo University, University of California, etc. Subsidy may be in place but the amount is inflated. The cost of living in Japan is higher than Singapore but the cost to train an university undergraduate there per year is 32000 USD but PAP gives a ridiculous figure of 38000USD. In fact, in Singapore, there is only fake subsidy like market subsidy or inflated subsidy like in the case of university tuition fee !!!
It is the time for PAP to fall !!! All government services will increase their charges despite the economy is not well and many are still with wage freeze or reduced salary. Obviously, PAP government is trying hard to cover their losses in Temasek Holding and GIC. At the end of the day, citizen has to suffer because of the blunder made by the government !!!
Lee family is one of the most crookiest family in the world. Despite beign 87 old lee still lust for power and refuse to step down. Even Gog Gok Tong, what is he doing really? Getting 3 miilion a year and be a puppet figure. Really we do not need these people to run the country.
In short increase of fees, licences, permits, etc. Thats what they are good for. Singporeans are living in suckers’ land.