PR and foreign students in govt-funded schools to pay higher fees from 2024 to 2026

SINGAPORE – Non-Singaporeans in government-funded schools will pay higher fees over the next three years.

The fee increase, which will kick in progressively each year from 2024 to 2026, will affect permanent resident (PR) and international students, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said in a statement on Wednesday.

Depending on their education level, the monthly school fees for PR students will go up by between $25 and $60 each year, while monthly fees for international students will go up by between $25 and $140 annually.

The changes will take effect in January in each of the three years.

MOE said the increase is part of a regular review of school fees, and it is announcing it ahead of time to help parents plan their finances.

For primary school pupils, monthly fees will rise by $25 annually for PRs and those from Asean countries.

For PRs, this will go up from $255 now to $330 in 2026. For pupils from Asean countries, fees will rise from $520 now to $595 in 2026.

For pupils from countries outside Asean, monthly fees for primary school will rise by $50 annually, from $885 now to $1,035 in 2026.

Monthly fees for secondary school will go up by $60 each year for PR and Asean students. PR students pay $500 now; this will go up to $680 in 2026.

Asean students, who now pay $910, will pay $1,090 in 2026.

For secondary school students from countries outside Asean, fees will increase by $140 annually. They now pay $1,770 monthly, but this will rise to $2,190 in 2026.

As for pre-university school fees, PR and Asean students will see a $60 increase annually. For PRs, monthly fees will go up from $580 now to $760 in 2026.

Pre-university students from Asean countries now pay $1,110 monthly, but their fees will increase progressively to reach $1,290 in 2026.

Those from outside Asean will face a fee increase of $140 annually, with their monthly fees going from $2,120 now to $2,540 in 2026.

School fees for Singaporeans remain unchanged.

Singaporeans do not need to pay monthly fees for primary school, and pay monthly fees of $5 for secondary school and $6 for pre-university.

School fees for non-Singaporeans have been increasing steadily over the past few years.

In 2021, MOE said fees would rise yearly for non-Singaporeans in 2022 and 2023.

For instance, primary school monthly fees for PRs rose progressively from $180 in 2019 to $230 in 2022.

MOE also announced in July that it would

merge the standard and second-tier miscellaneous fees into a single tier from 2024.

From January 2024, the miscellaneous fees for all nationalities will be set at $13 a month for primary school, $20 a month for secondary school, and $27 a month for pre-university.