Tertiary educational institutions raise school fees
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Tertiary educational institutions raise school fees
Students at several tertiary institutions will have to pay higher tuition fees this year. (Yahoo! photo)
School fees will increase starting this year, announced several tertiary institutions in Singapore on Friday.
The institutions are National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the five polytechnics as well as Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs).
NUS, NTU
According to The Straits Times (ST), both NUS and NTU will increase tuition fees for its undergraduate and postgraduate courses from this year.
Annual tuition fees for most undergraduate courses for Academic Year (AY) 2011 at NUS will increase by 4 per cent, representing an annual increase of 1.6 per cent over four years.
For those enrolled in Architecture, Business, Law, Music, Nursing and Pharmacy courses, fees will go up by 6 per cent, which works out to an annual icnerase of 2.3 per cent over four years.
Those enrolled in graduate courses (coursework or research) will have to pay fees adjusted upwards by 6 per cent, with the exception of Nursing students.
In subsequent years, fees for the AY2011 intake will be increased by 3 per cent annually for the course duration. The school’s existing graduate students will also be subject to a 3 per cent increase annually for the remaining course duration.
Over at NTU, incoming undergraduates will also see a 4 per cent increase of fees, representing an annual increase of over 1.6 per cent over four years. Those enrolled in Business programmes will see a 6 per cent increase.
Existing NTU students will not be affected by the revision. Returning National Servicemen will also enjoy tuition fees based on the year they were admitted into the University.
For the incoming postgraduate students (coursework and research), fees will be adjusted upwards by 6 pre cent for AY2011. In subsequent years, fees for AY2011 students will be increased by 3% each year for the remaining duration of their course.
Both universities said the increase in tuition fees also reflect a greater differentiation in fees paid by Singapore citizens, permanent residents (PRs) and international students.
PRs and international students admitted to NUS in AY2011 are subject to fees between $480 and $2,180 higher than the existing rates for PRs and between $970 and $3,720 more than the existing annual rates for international students.
PRs and International Students admitted to NTU in AY2011 will have to pay between $700 and $1,320 more than current fee rates for PR, and between $1,140 and $2,180 more than existing annual rates for international students.
Polytechnics
A joint statement issued by the five local polytechnics said fees will increase by 2.3 per cent, or $50 to $2,220 annually, according to Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic will also be increasing tuition fees for existing Polytechnic-Foreign Specialised Institution (Poly-FSI) degree courses by 3 per cent in the new academic year. This means, Singapore Citizen students will pay between S$4,980 and S$8,290 annually.
Both new and existing students will be subject to the fee revision.
The polytechnics explained, the fee hike is necessary to help defray the cost of delivering a high quality education. They added, they will continue to rely on a substantial subsidy from the government to cope with the bulk of their costs.
International and PR students will be harder-hit by the increase in fees, according to the polytechnics.
For new PR students, fees will increase by between $480 and $810; for new international students, fees will go up by between $840 and $1,580. Existing PRs and international students will also pay higher fees.
Institutes of Technical Education (ITE)
Fees at the ITEs will also increase, reported CNA.
New and existing students, who are Singapore citizens pursuing Nitec and Higher Nitec courses, will pay $10 more each year. Technical Engineer Diploma course fees will also go up by $50 per year to $2,200.
New students, who are permanent residents,will pay between $970 and $1,760 more, while foreigners will pay between $1,040 and $1,820 more.
Existing foreign and PR students will pay higher fees but it is based on the existing fee differentiation framework, reported CNA.
Financial assistance
The polytechnics and universities said there are sufficient financial assistance schemes in place to ensure no student will be denied the opportunity of a an education.
NTU will set aside S$5.65 million in financial aid in AY2011.
NTU Professor Er Meng Hwa, Senior Associate Provost in charge of undergraduate education said, ” For Singaporean students, the existing aid schemes will cover all their tuition fees, as well as between 60 per cent and 100 per cent of their living expenses, subject to qualifying criteria.”
“For needy students who are permanent residents, the existing schemes will ensure that 100 per cent of their tuition fees are covered. For international students, they cover about 85 per cent,” he added.
NUS also has a range of financial assistance schemes including Tuition Fee Loan, NUS Study Loan, NUS/MOE Bursary, Work-Study Assistance and the NUS Student Assistance Loan.
Source:
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2011/01/14/tertiary-educational-institutions-raise-school-fees/