Tenure of Faculty Members in Autonomous Universities

Assoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene asked the Minister for Education (a) what is the role of the Ministry in the granting of tenure to faculty members in our Autonomous Universities; and (b) whether the Autonomous Universities routinely inform the Ministry of the outcome of tenure applications as a matter of practice or requirement.

Mr Heng Swee Keat: The Autonomous Universities (AUs) make their own decisions on tenure appointments. They have their own processes and evaluation panels in place to assess the suitability of faculty members to be granted tenure.

The AUs keep MOE informed of tenure appointments so that MOE can better understand the broad trends and the development of the AUs.