ADMISSION INTO LOCAL UNIVERSITIES

ADMISSION INTO LOCAL UNIVERSITIES: 3.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad asked the Minister for Education in light of local students not being able to gain admission to the three local universities despite the increase in the number of places (a) whether he will provide an update on the recent admission exercise for local universities; and (b) what measures are taken by his Ministry to ensure that local A-level and polytechnic students have

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sufficient places for accredited tertiary education in Singapore.

4.

Mr Zainudin Nordin asked the Minister for Education (a) whether our local universities are producing enough graduates to meet the needs of our industries; (b) what is the average growth in the number of local university places in the last ten years; (c) whether local universities are able to cope with the increase in intake; and (d) whether the local universities' vision to have more international students is being achieved at the expense of local students.

The Minister of State for Education (Mr Gan Kim Yong) (for the Minister for Education): Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to take both Questions No. 3 and 4 together?

Mr Speaker: Yes.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Sir, we have increased the number of university places over the years. The number of places at NUS, NTU and SMU together has increased by an average of about 5% each year over the past 10 years. The proportion of each cohort of local students entering the three universities will increase to about 23.5% this year, compared to 20.8% in 2000 and 15% in 1990.

In addition, MOE is encouraging the polytechnics to link up with Foreign Specialised Institutions to offer degree programmes in niche disciplines. For example, Ngee Ann Polytechnic has tied up with Wheelock College from the US to offer a degree programme in early childhood education, for which Wheelock has a strong reputation. These specialised degree programmes will provide our students with more opportunities to pursue university education.

We are progressively moving towards the current target of providing subsidised

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university education for 25% of each cohort of local students.

I would like to assure the House also that the local universities' vision to have more international students is not being achieved at the expense of local students. University places for foreign students are over and above those that are set aside for local students.

International students play an important role. Their presence helps to create diversity in our campuses, gives them a more enriching learning experience and better prepares our students for the globalised future.

Turning to Mr Zaqy Mohamad's request for an update on the recent university admission exercise, the three universities will provide a total of 14,685 places for Academic Year 2007, compared to the intake of about 13,420 students last year. This is an increase of about 1,270 places, or about 10%. This increase is sufficient to cater to the larger cohort of what we call 'Dragon' girls who will enter the universities this year.

Each application, including every appeal, is carefully and fairly examined by the universities' admissions offices. Each student is assessed on the basis of merit.

Mr Zainudin Nordin: Sir, though we understand the need to have international students, the perspective of students who have been rejected from entering the universities is that the places that are available could have been offered to the locals. So how do we rationalise the same amount of resources provided for the university education to the foreign students?

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Mr Speaker, I am glad that the Member has accepted the need for international students' presence

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here to enrich the learning experience of our own local students because we are facing a rapidly globalised environment here. It is also important for us to understand that each university has its own admission criteria and students who are able to meet the admission criteria would have been admitted into the universities because they operate on a very open merit-based system. Therefore, as we move towards our current target of 25% cohort participation, the universities will continue to look at additional places to accommodate our students to provide them with opportunities to pursue university education here.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Hong Kah): Sir, when do we expect to reach the 25% cohort participation of degree holders? How do we compare this 25% cohort participation with respect to other mature economies? Will the Government consider putting a second-tier tertiary education, for example, more state-funded universities to cater to the average students out of polytechnics and 'A' levels?

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the Member for the questions. I think we have increased the university participation rate in gradual steps, not in large jumps, so as to maintain the quality of graduates from our universities here, and also to ensure that our graduates are readily employable. Based on 2006 Graduate Employment Survey, it shows that 86% of graduates from our three universities were able to find full-time employment within six months of graduation. It is therefore important that we continue to produce graduates who are employable, rather than jump into increasing the capacity of the universities. In terms of participation rate, while our target participation rate is 25%, we also understand that many of our students who went through polytechnic education would continue to look for opportunities to upgrade and pursue university education. It may not neces-

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sarily be immediately after their polytechnic diploma. Some of them would work for a few years and they would continue to upgrade. Overall, we are looking at more than 40% of our population who would eventually pursue a degree programme. This position compares quite favourably with many of the developed economies in the world. So we are also watching the progress of the other countries. We also need to be careful not to end up in a situation where many countries found themselves in when they expanded university participation too rapidly.

Mr Siew Kum Hong (Nominated Member): Sir, I have two supplementary questions. The first question is I would like to ask the MOS to clarify what he meant when he said that places for foreign students are over and above the places for local students. Does this mean that places are offered to foreign students only after all eligible local students have been offered and have accepted their places? My second question is this. The MOS has mentioned that there are 14,000-odd places for year of admission 2007. Out of these 14,000-plus places, how many places will be going to foreign students?

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Mr Speaker, let me just give the House some benchmark numbers so that we can have a feel. During this year's admission exercise, a total of 28,000 local students applied to local universities. Out of that, 14,000 (49%) were offered places. Similarly, about 23,000 foreign students applied to the universities for the same admission year and only 987 [ Please see clarification during sitting on 27th August 2007. ] were given places, that is, 4.3% [ Please see clarification during sitting on 27th August 2007. ]. So on that basis, we want to demonstrate that the universities do give priority to our local students. And for our students who can qualify, based on the requirements of each discipline or

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faculty, they would have been given admission. Beyond that, the universities would want to ensure that there are also sufficient foreign students to provide diversity and it is part of the learning experience that we want our students to go through as well during their university education here.

*Col. 1347, 27th August 2007.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah): Sir, I would like to ask the MOS whether it is a healthy situation to have large numbers of deserving Singaporeans who are not able to make it to the local universities despite their good grades and having to make their own arrangements, at their own expense, for overseas education or a private degree. Will that result in these Singaporeans being less rooted to Singapore?

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Mr Speaker, as I mentioned in my reply earlier, it is also important for us to look at the balance between employability, responding to the needs of the industry and, at the same time, to address the aspirations of our Singaporeans. Many of them, even though they are not able to go into universities right from the onset, they do progress through the polytechnic route and, eventually, they look at the possibility of furthering their university education through the polytechnic route. As I mentioned in my reply, the polytechnics are also developing degree programmes in collaboration with specialised institutions that offer niche programmes that are in demand by the industry today in Singapore. I think we provide many routes of advancement for our students to realise their aspirations and to allow them to pursue their education opportunities.