Funding for universities masters’ programmes to be reviewed as MOE invests more in short training courses

SINGAPORE – Funding for masters’ programmes that prepare students for jobs in autonomous universities will be reviewed, as the Ministry of Education (MOE) channels more resources towards short training courses for adult workers, and amid universities playing a bigger role in delivering them.

Any changes will take effect no earlier than 2019, revealed Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung on Saturday (Oct 28), as he launched a new SkillsFuture Series of more than 400 training modules catering to workers in eight key sectors. Mr Ong said some of the masters' programmes may be converted into skills and vocational-based modular courses which would lead to graduate certifications.

“As we invest more in industry-relevant modular training for adult workers, we face the reality of a finite budget,” said Mr Ong at the Lifelong Learning Festival.

“MOE will therefore review the funding arrangement and delivery of postgraduate masters’ programmes by coursework at the autonomous universities.”

Currently, universities have two types of masters’ programmes. One is by coursework, which is designed to prepare students for jobs, while the other is more research-focused and acts a precursor to doctoral training.

The review of funding comes as universities and other institutes of higher learning, including polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education, are set to play a bigger role in delivering Continuing Education and Training (CET) courses aimed at deepening workers’ skills.

About 80 per cent of the new SkillsFuture Series courses are provided by those institutions, while private providers support the rest.

Institutes of higher learning are “keenly aware” that this is a major transformation for them, but Mr Ong stressed that it is “a necessary one in response to the challenges of our time”.

“In pushing for CET, there is also a great opportunity for (institutes of higher learning) to better synergise research and teaching,” said Mr Ong.

“However, while they are leveraging their existing and traditional strengths, I must caution that training adult workers is not simply about unstacking a full qualification programme into modules and dishing them out with a CET label.”