SINGAPORE – Students entering the polytechnics and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) next year will have to pay more than their seniors.
Checks by The Straits Times found that their annual fees, which apply to newcomers in the 2019 academic year, will go up by between 3 per cent and 7 per cent, like the year before.
The new fees were posted on the schools’ websites on Friday (Nov 16). The polytechnics’ term starts in April, while ITE has two intakes in January and April.
Singaporeans entering the five polytechnics next year will pay an annual tuition fee of $2,900, up from the current $2,800. The polytechnic tuition fees for permanent residents (PRs) will go up by $200 to $5,800, while that for international students will go up by $400 to $10,400.
At the ITE, fees for full-time Nitec courses will go up by $20 for Singaporeans, while PRs will pay $300 more and foreign students $900 more. Fees for the Higher Nitec courses remain unchanged.
Tuition fees for higher education have been going up yearly in the past few years, but the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Friday that the Government continues to heavily subsidise the cost of polytechnic and ITE education for Singaporeans – at about 85 per cent and more than 90 per cent respectively.
In a reply to The Straits Times, a spokesman for the ministry said: “Tuition fees are reviewed annually and adjusted, where necessary, to defray increased costs and enable the polytechnics and ITE to keep investing in capability-building initiatives that can deliver a high-quality education to Singaporeans.”
The spokesman added that no deserving student is denied a polytechnic or ITE education due to financial difficulties, and that government bursaries are reviewed regularly.
Government bursary amounts were raised last year, with polytechnic students able to get up to $2,350 a year and ITE students up to $1,400 a year, depending on household income.
“The household per capita income cut-off to qualify for the bursaries was also increased from $1,900 to $2,250 per month, which translates to a gross monthly household income of $9,000 for a family of four,” said the MOE.
Overall, fees across universities have also gone up since 2010, after taking into account factors such as rising costs due to inflation and improvements to teaching quality.
Foreigners and PRs have also had to pay more, starting this year until 2020, to enrol their children in local schools, in a move to reflect the privilege of citizenship.
Their fee increases range from S$25 to S$150 per month for foreigners, and S$25 to S$60 per month for PRs, depending on the school level.
Secondary 5 student Brice Goh, who has a place to study mechatronics and robotics in Nanyang Polytechnic next year, said he hopes fees do not go up too much, although they are still heavily subsidised.
“But I will still go to polytechnic because junior college is not for me. I’d rather have hands-on activities and learn by doing projects with classmates,” said the 17-year-old.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...e-students-to-pay-higher-tuition-fees-in-2019
Checks by The Straits Times found that their annual fees, which apply to newcomers in the 2019 academic year, will go up by between 3 per cent and 7 per cent, like the year before.
The new fees were posted on the schools’ websites on Friday (Nov 16). The polytechnics’ term starts in April, while ITE has two intakes in January and April.
Singaporeans entering the five polytechnics next year will pay an annual tuition fee of $2,900, up from the current $2,800. The polytechnic tuition fees for permanent residents (PRs) will go up by $200 to $5,800, while that for international students will go up by $400 to $10,400.
At the ITE, fees for full-time Nitec courses will go up by $20 for Singaporeans, while PRs will pay $300 more and foreign students $900 more. Fees for the Higher Nitec courses remain unchanged.
Tuition fees for higher education have been going up yearly in the past few years, but the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Friday that the Government continues to heavily subsidise the cost of polytechnic and ITE education for Singaporeans – at about 85 per cent and more than 90 per cent respectively.
In a reply to The Straits Times, a spokesman for the ministry said: “Tuition fees are reviewed annually and adjusted, where necessary, to defray increased costs and enable the polytechnics and ITE to keep investing in capability-building initiatives that can deliver a high-quality education to Singaporeans.”
The spokesman added that no deserving student is denied a polytechnic or ITE education due to financial difficulties, and that government bursaries are reviewed regularly.
Government bursary amounts were raised last year, with polytechnic students able to get up to $2,350 a year and ITE students up to $1,400 a year, depending on household income.
“The household per capita income cut-off to qualify for the bursaries was also increased from $1,900 to $2,250 per month, which translates to a gross monthly household income of $9,000 for a family of four,” said the MOE.
Overall, fees across universities have also gone up since 2010, after taking into account factors such as rising costs due to inflation and improvements to teaching quality.
Foreigners and PRs have also had to pay more, starting this year until 2020, to enrol their children in local schools, in a move to reflect the privilege of citizenship.
Their fee increases range from S$25 to S$150 per month for foreigners, and S$25 to S$60 per month for PRs, depending on the school level.
Secondary 5 student Brice Goh, who has a place to study mechatronics and robotics in Nanyang Polytechnic next year, said he hopes fees do not go up too much, although they are still heavily subsidised.
“But I will still go to polytechnic because junior college is not for me. I’d rather have hands-on activities and learn by doing projects with classmates,” said the 17-year-old.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...e-students-to-pay-higher-tuition-fees-in-2019
