Education Minister Ng Eng Hen, who disclosed this in a written reply to a parliamentary question, said this figure has held steady for the past decade.

Scholarships for undergraduates are terminated only as a last resort, he added.

He was responding to Dr Ong Seh Hong (Marine Parade GRC), who asked about the number of undergraduates who lost their scholarships over the last 10 years, and about the help that has been given to them to cope psychologically and financially.

The issue of scholarship terminations came under the spotlight earlier this month when Nanyang Technological University (NTU) undergraduate David Widjaja fell to his death on campus.

The 21-year-old Indonesian held an Asean Scholarship which was revoked last month. The Asean Scholarship, given by the Singapore Government to students in the region, is meant for study at secondary schools, junior colleges and universities here.

The Asean Scholarship for university students pays for all of the students' tuition fees and grants them annual stipends.

If scholarships are revoked, students are not expected to pay a penalty but they have to pick up the tab for the remaining portions of their courses.

Dr Ng and Dr Ong both made no reference to the incident at NTU.

In his written reply, which was released yesterday, Dr Ng said each university and scholarship awarding agency has its own measures to support their scholars.

Read the full story in today's edition of The Straits Times.