SINGAPORE - Students entering medicine and dentistry courses at local universities this year will have to pay higher fees.
However, students starting 90 per cent of courses offered by the six national universities this academic year will not face any increases, it has been announced.
Annual tuition fees for medicine and dentistry courses at the National University of Singapore (NUS) will go up by $500 for new students, affecting the intake for the upcoming academic year in August. This brings the yearly tuition fees for these two courses to $28,900.
Fees for a medicine course at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are also going up by $500 to $34,700.
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In a statement from the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Government said it is committed to providing significant subsidies that will cover almost three-quarters of a student's total cost of education. "Adjustments will still be needed from time to time, but we have reached a good landing point," the statement added.
Arts and social sciences, business and computing are some of the courses for which fees will remain unchanged.
The fee revisions were announced on the respective university's website on Thursday (March 28). They were decided after consultation between the universities and MOE and take into account the need to manage rising costs, minimise the impact on students and ensure a high quality of education.
Other courses that will see higher fees include music and those at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT).
Yearly fees at NUS' music faculty will also go up by $500 to $13,950.
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As in the previous two years, the SUTD is raising its annual tuition fees this year by $150, from $13,050 to $13,200.
Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) will increase its annual fees by $60 for SIT-conferred degrees such as accountancy and hospitality business.
The remaining undergraduate programmes will see no increase in fees.
All six universities raised their fees last year, with the NUS, NTU, Singapore Management University and Singapore University of Social Sciences introducing increases of $50.
SUTD raised its fees by $150 - about 1 per cent - while SIT introduced increases of various amounts last year.
The MOE also said it will collaborate with the universities to ensure that financial assistance is available, and that no deserving student is denied a university education due to financial difficulties.
Correction note: An earlier version of the story said the Singapore Institute of Technology will increase its annual fees by $180 - $240 for some courses. This is incorrect. It will increase its annual fees by $60 for SIT-conferred degrees such as accountancy and hospitality business. We are sorry for the error.
