Limited public school places for foreign students, 1,800 rejected in latest exercise

SINGAPORE — About 1,800 applications from international students to enter Primary 1 this year were rejected in the 2016 Primary 1 registration exercise.

This was revealed by Parliamentary Secretary for Education Low Yen Ling on Monday (Oct 2), in response to a question on the matter by Member of Parliament Ong Teng Koon (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC).

He had also asked if the Ministry of Education (MOE) could consider raising the percentage of international students in public schools here to above 5 per cent.

Ms Low replied that while the MOE values the diversity these foreign students bring to mainstream schools, the priority is to serve the needs of Singaporean students.

She said that international students can help to “cultivate a global orientation and inter-cultural skills” among their peers here, and enrich the educational environment, but stressed that the public school system is ultimately “designed to cater to the needs of Singaporean students”.

That is why there is “a limited number of places” offered to international students each year, she added. The number of these students who did not get places in previous years is not available.

“While MOE will continue to make available places in our mainstream schools for international students, we will not be able to meet the demand entirely,” she said.

Over the last few years, school fees for foreign students have been increased substantially.

Last October, it was announced that non-Singapore citizens at government and government-aided schools will go up in a continued effort to “differentiate fees by citizenship”.

From this year, the fees will go up by between S$20 and S$60 a month for students who are permanent residents (PRs). Fees for international students in primary and secondary schools as well as pre-university institutions will increase by between S$20 and S$150 a month.

For example, PRs attending primary school will pay S$130 a month, an increase of S$20. International students will pay S$600, an increase of S$50. “The fee increase sharpens the differentiation between Singapore citizens, PRs and foreigners, to reflect the privileges of citizenship,” an MOE spokesperson said previously.