NUS, NTU & SMU raise fees to better reflect citizenship privileges

SINGAPORE: All three Singapore public universities are raising tuition fees for the incoming cohort of students.

The increase will also be sharper for permanent residents and foreign students in line with the government's policy of reflecting the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship.

Singapore Management University (SMU) said fees for all undergraduate programmes will be adjusted by three per cent for the incoming cohort.

All undergraduate programmes except for Law will cost S$9,890 a year. Law will cost S$10,920 a year. The tuition fees will remain unchanged for the four years of their university studies.

Tuition fees paid by Singaporean undergraduates at National University of Singapore will go up by four per cent for the incoming cohort, except for Architecture, Business, Law and Pharmacy.

Tuition fees for Architecture and Business will go up by seven per cent. Fees for Law and Pharmacy will increase by 10 per cent.

Fees for the incoming intake of students for postgraduate courses at NUS will be adjusted upwards by four per cent. And they will be increased by three per cent each year for the remaining duration of the course.

Incoming NUS undergrads who are PRs will pay between S$720 and S$2,810 more for their courses. Fees for foreign students admitted into NUS this year will increase by between S$800 and S$3,120.

Over at Nanyang Technological University, fees for non business programmes are S$6,890 for Singapore Citizens, S$8,270 for Permanent Residents and S$11,030 for foreign students.

For the business programme, the fees are S$7,490 for Singapore Citizens, S$8,990 for PRs and S$11,990 for foreign students.

Returning National Servicemen will continue to enjoy tuition fees based on the year they were offered a place.

The fee revision does not affect current cohorts at the three universities.

Like NUS, NTU will also lift the one-year fee revision deferment that last year's cohort has enjoyed. They will implement the fees for them in accordance with the schedule that was announced to them last year.

The three universities have given the assurance that no Singaporean will be deprived of a varsity education for financial reasons. They have various schemes for needy students. - CNA/vm