The Ministry of Education (MOE) revealed this in response to The Sunday Times' query on whether foreign students stay beyond the three-year bond period imposed because foreigners receive a subsidised education here.
MOE also said that it will continue to give out up to 20 per cent of university places every year to foreign students, despite the surge in demand from local students.
'Allowing international students into our universities is an important strategy to supplement our limited pool of professionals and allows us to compete with other countries with larger populations,' said an MOE spokesman.
In planning for places at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU), MOE and the three universities first determine the number of publicly subsidised places to be provided for local students. All local students are subsidised up to about 70 per cent.
Consideration is then given to the admission of foreigners, which is capped at 20 per cent of the total student population.
That means this year, with the total of planned 14,700 university places, at most 2,940 places will go to foreigners. The remaining 11,760 places will go to local students, giving 25 per cent of the cohort this year a shot at university education. The cohort-participation rate will be raised to 30per cent in 2015.
The MOE spokesman said talented foreign students enhance the quality of universities here and also provide graduate manpower to meet Singapore's economic needs.
Noting the three-year bond, she noted: 'Many on their own stay longer than this - two-thirds after 10 years - and add to our talent pool.'
Foreign students are required to stay on and work here for three years because of the generous subsidy they get from the Singapore Government.
If a student leaves without serving the three years, he must pay back the tuition grant he received with 10 per cent compounded interest per annum.
Even with the substantial fee increase for foreign students this year, their undergraduate education will still be subsidised by about 50 per cent by the Singapore Government.
From August, foreign students entering the three local universities will pay 50 per cent more fees than local students, compared to just 10 per cent more previously.
But even with the rise in fees, Singapore universities provide top-quality education at less than half the tuition fees charged by countries such as the United States, Britain and Australia.
Sandra Davie