SINGAPORE – Some 350,000 students in government and government-aided schools can tap the Edusave scheme and Ministry of Education’s Financial Assistance Scheme (MOE FAS) to fully pay their school miscellaneous fees from 2024.

The current standard and second-tier miscellaneous fees will also be merged into one fee from next year.

Government and government-aided schools collect miscellaneous fees to defray the cost of materials and programmes for students.

The current monthly standard fees are $6.50, $10 and $13.50 for primary, secondary and pre-university students, respectively.

Schools determine the current monthly second-tier fees, subject to a cap of $6.50, $10 and $13.50.

The new single miscellaneous fees from 2024 are set at $13, $20 and $27 for the three groups, respectively.

Students can use Edusave from next year to pay all miscellaneous fees, instead of only the second-tier fees currently.

Similarly, students receiving the MOE FAS may use it to pay for school fees and all miscellaneous fees, instead of only the school fees and standard miscellaneous fee currently.

MOE expects to spend an additional $3.8 million per year to extend the FAS’ miscellaneous fee coverage, which will benefit around 40,000 MOE FAS students.

Another 310,000 non-MOE FAS students will benefit from the expanded Edusave coverage.

The enhancements will reduce parents’ out-of-pocket expenses for a child’s educational needs by up to $162 a year, the ministry said.

No action is required for parents currently using their children’s Edusave to pay for their second-tier miscellaneous fee, as automatic deductions will be made from Edusave to pay for the newly merged single-tier miscellaneous fee from next year, according to MOE.

Parents who are currently paying for the second-tier miscellaneous fee via other methods, but wish to use Edusave to pay for the new single-tier fee, can submit the online Standing Order Form using their Singpass login. They can also do so via Parents Gateway, under the Services tab.