SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY (AMENDMENT) BILL

Column No : 1919

SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY (AMENDMENT) BILL: Order for Second Reading read.

7.00 pm

The Minister for Education (Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, theSingapore Management University(or SMU) Act was enacted in 2000 following the incorporation of SMU as a not-for-profit public company limited by guarantee. The strategic intent of the SMU Act is to provide SMU with autonomy and flexibility, while putting in place mechanisms to safeguard public interest and proper use of funds. The approach taken was to strike an appropriate balance between the statutory board model of NUS and NTU, and that of a private university.

In the short space of five years, SMU has performed commendably as can be seen in how it has spurred healthy competition among the other business schools in Singapore. More importantly, SMU has developed a good reputation among students and the public by providing a different education based on the Wharton model, adding greater diversity to our university landscape.

The experience with SMU has shown that theAutonomous Universitymodel can work. My Ministry is now prepared to give SMU even more autonomy, especially in the financial area through the one-line block grantin both recurrent and development needs in line with the University Autonomy, Governance and Funding (UAGF) recommendations. This will allow SMU to apply the resources where it can create the most value. As we give SMU greater autonomy, it will also be sensible to place SMU under the enhanced accountability framework, that we are also placing for NUS and NTU.

In this regard, the SMU (Amendment) Bill has included the enhanced accountability framework. The House has discussed the content and rationale of these clauses at length during the debates on the NUS and NTU (Corporatisation) Bills.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.- [Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.