SINGAPORE — Starting next year, non-Singaporeans in Government schools and Government-aided schools will pay more in school fees, in a bid to “further differentiate fees by citizenship”.

These fees will increase by between S$20 to S$60 per month for students who are permanent residents (PRs), and by between S$20 to S$150 per month for international students, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced today (Sept 30). School fees for Singapore citizens remain unchanged.

This means PRs can expect to pay S$110 per month for primary school, an increase of S$20, while international students will pay S$550, an increase of S$50. The MOE said the changes are part of a periodic review. The last time fees were raised for these students was in 2013.

Some foreigners with children in government schools here were unhappy with the decision. Mrs Kristine Oustrup Laureijs, who is from Denmark, felt it was a “political move to please citizens”, and a way of quelling the unhappiness voiced by Singaporeans against foreigners in recent years.

The 44-year-old, whose daughters are studying in St Margaret’s Primary School and Stamford Primary School, said she put her daughters in local schools as she wanted to integrate her children into the local environment, and because international schools were too costly. She added: “Citizens are being taken care of, but for us, we have to pay our own way … It sends a very strong signal at what kind of foreigners the government wants.”

Mrs Anh Van Chi, 34, a sales manager, said she was “disappointed” at the move. “They are trying to differentiate between (foreigners) and the locals … It’s a subtle way of the government (trying) to push the foreigners away,” said the Vietnamese national, who has a son in Primary 1 at Queenstown Primary School, and has lived in Singapore for over 10 years.

Another parent who felt the pinch was Mongolian national Nancy Khaliunaa, 39, who works in the printing industry. Already, she has sent her 19-year-old daughter home, saying the fees for junior colleges were too expensive. Her daughter had recently graduated from Yishun Town Secondary School.

She added: “My son has been in Singapore since he was three months old, and he’s almost like a Singaporean already ... We’ll have to pay S$550 (a month) for his school fees in the future, and it will be very tough on us. But we can’t complain, we’re not citizens (after all).”

However, veterinarian Bronwyn Sharman said she was “not too upset” by the hikes. The Australian, who has been living in Singapore for more than seven years, and has a son enrolled at Stamford Primary, said: “We’ll find ways to shell out that extra S$50, so it shouldn’t hurt too much. As long as I get a good quality of education for the price I’m paying, I feel that it’s all right … as long as the prices don’t keep increasing in the future.”