Ministry of Education Financial support for foreign students
The education minister said that the government spends $238 million a year on scholarship and tuition grants for international students. This is only a small part of the $13 billion that the government spends on education, of which a large part is spent on educating local students.

Some Singaporeans are unhappy that they or their parents have to take up study loans while the government funds international students. Furthermore, the places taken up by the international students could have been given to local students who otherwise have to go to overseas universities to pursue their university degree at high cost.

I wish to share my views on this issue:

a) It is acceptable to have a mix of international and local students in our universities. It brings along its benefits. Our local students learn more about other countries. The international students learn more about Singapore. They may work in Singapore or in other countries and form a part of our international network. 

b) However, the proportion of local and international students should be acceptable. I find it acceptable to have international students forming up to 10% of the student population in our universities. If there is justification, it could increase to 20%. However, it is unacceptable for our international students to exceed 20%. 

c) .The international students should meet the same educational standards as local students. It is not acceptable for our universities to admit international students who are of lower standards than our local students who cannot get a place.

d) The international students should pay the same tuition fees and other expenses as local students. They should not enjoy better financial support than local students. 

e) The practice of accepting international students who pay the full fees should be discontinued as it may create a conflict of interest for universities to accept these students who are of lower academic standard. Let these full fee paying students by taken by privately run universities.

I believe that my suggestions will lead to a more transparent system and remove the misunderstanding that is caused by the current practices.

It will allow the local students to benefit from interaction with international students and vice versa, and remove any suspicion that the international students are depriving local students of a place in the university.  

Some local students who do not meet the admission standard will still be unhappy with the presence of international students. They should consider a non-university route, which may be more suitable for their future careers. It may not be a good option for them to pursue a degree in an expensive overseas university.

Tan Kin Lian 

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