Proportion of Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents & Foreigners at Local Autonomous Universities

Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) for each of the years from 2011 to 2016, what proportion of students at each local autonomous university are Singapore citizens, permanent residents and foreigners respectively, with a breakdown of undergraduate and post-graduate student population in each case.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: University places are planned first and foremost for Singaporeans, in line with the cohort participation rate target of 40% by 2020. A small proportion of places are then provided for international students as they add diversity and vibrancy to the university, and enhance the educational experience for Singaporean students.

Over the past five years, international students have formed not more than 15% of the undergraduate intake at our publicly-funded universities. Permanent residents have comprised about 5% of the intake. In 2016, the numbers stand at around 10% and 5% for international students and permanent residents respectively.

At the postgraduate level, the nationality profile of students are not planned for, unlike undergraduate programmes, but depends on applications. On average, 32% of the intake across the various postgraduate programmes each year were Singaporeans. Permanent residents and international students comprised another 5% and 63% of intake respectively.