Lifelong learning: Back to school with dad or mum in Singapore

SINGAPORE – Some families in Singapore are flipping the script when it comes to school.

Instead of ferrying the grandchildren to school, seniors are taking online lessons with their adult offspring. Late-career professionals and their recent-graduate kids are equally hungry to rise in the ranks with higher qualifications.

These midlifers are having none of that crisis cliche: They are helping themselves to their second – or fourth – diploma, thank you.

Inter-generational learning has become part of the lifelong learning boom in recent years.

Local universities and polytechnics are reporting a spike in the number of older learners in recent years, attesting to the changing face of higher education.

At Nanyang Technological University (NTU), enrolment for learners aged 40 and above increased between 20 and 30 per cent, year on year, for its non-degree Continuing Education and Training programmes. NTU’s postgraduate programmes saw a 10 per cent rise in this age group over the past two academic years.  

The number of older learners at National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) has also spiked.

Between 2021 and 2025, enrolment for those in their 40s and older grew by about 28 per cent across SUSS’ undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. At NUS, this group of learners in its lifelong learning programmes numbered more than 8,000 in 2024, doubling from around 4,000 in 2017.

At Republic Polytechnic, the proportion of students aged 40 and above rose from 47 per cent in 2022 to 56 per cent in 2025. At Temasek Polytechnic, this age group accounted for 57 per cent of its adult learner cohort in 2025, a rise of about 10 percentage points from 2024.

Professor Boh Wai Fong, NTU’s Vice-President (Lifelong Learning and Alumni Engagement), says: “Overall, the rise in older learners reflects a broader shift in how education is understood. University education is no longer confined to one’s early 20s, but is increasingly seen as a lifelong process supporting individuals at different stages of life and career. Inter-generational learning is a natural outcome of this shift.”

National movements urging mid-career upskilling and lifelong learning, such as the SkillsFuture scheme launched in 2015, are fuelling this growth, and institutions of higher learning are adapting to this change, observers say.

Inter-generational classrooms, which bring together students at different life stages, allow dynamic differences to surface.

Dr Lim Fui Ping, a senior lecturer at NUS Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, notes: “Younger students are often still exploring and tend to focus on theories, policies and performing well in assessments. In contrast, mid-career learners are much more application-driven. They want to understand how knowledge translates into real-world practice, often asking questions such as ‘Why does this matter?’ and ‘How would I apply this in a clinical setting?’

“This difference drives us to design lessons that are relevant and engaging for both groups.”

Communication styles and expectations add to the complexity, she says. “Younger students tend to be more informal and digitally oriented, while older learners often prefer structured, in-depth discussions and face-to-face engagement.”

NUS Nursing has intentionally shifted its teaching approach to address such challenges, she says. “Rather than relying heavily on lectures, lessons are designed around case-based discussions, experiential sharing and real-world scenarios.

“This allows both groups to contribute meaningfully – younger students bring theoretical knowledge and recent academic learning, while mid-career learners contribute insights drawn from experience and pattern recognition.

“In this way, differences are not just managed, but also leveraged as strengths.”

Here are stories of parent-and-child pairs embarking on lifelong learning together, powered by a self-improvement drive that seems part of their shared DNA.