NUS master’s programmes to cease receiving govt subsidies

[The_King]

SINGAPORE – All master’s courses at the National University of Singapore (NUS) will be fully self-funded by end 2022 and will no longer receive government subsidies, said its president Tan Eng Chye on Wednesday.

Speaking during a panel discussion at an event held at NUS’ University Town, he added that this means that it would be able to charge tuition fees comparable to those billed by overseas institutions, and this would then be a revenue source.

He was responding to a question by Times Higher Education’s chief knowledge officer Phil Baty about how universities maintain financial stability and diversify their incomes.

Capitalising on NUS’ brand, Prof Tan said in the last few years, nearly all master’s programmes would have stopped receiving government subsidies. By the end of 2022, all master’s courses would have become self-funded.

“We are able then to charge fees that are commensurate with what other top universities are charging for master’s programmes... and this becomes another revenue source for us.”

The Straits Times has contacted NUS for more details on the fee changes and whether there are subsidy schemes that Singaporean students can tap for master’s programmes.

 

 

Prof Tan added that the Government also encourages universities to raise funds through building endowments, similar to what other prestigious institutions in the United States do.

 

 

The Government provides matching grants to all six autonomous universities, which is a good incentive for institutions to ensure they are financially stable, he said.

The panel discussion, which focused on challenges and takeaways from the Covid-19 pandemic, also featured Professor Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor, vice-chancellor of University of Malaya, and Professor Banchong Mahaisavariya, president of Mahidol University.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the event, Prof Hamdi said with the economic downturn brought on by the pandemic, the government in Malaysia had to channel funding to other areas like healthcare and social services in the past three years.

 

Government funding to the University of Malaya was cut by 15 per cent in 2022 – the highest in the institution’s history, he noted.

“With the challenges, we had to get more creative. We all have to do more income-generation work, go out there to raise more donations and endowments, be more prudent in spending,” he added.

The two-day event, organised by Times Higher Education and hosted by NUS, brought together nearly 300 delegates from around the world to discuss issues like innovation in the higher education sector.

On Wednesday, Prof Tan gave an update on NUS’ initiatives, including a scheme to implement blended learning.

NUS president Tan Eng Chye speaking at THE Campus Live SE Asia 2022, on Dec 7, 2022. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

In the next three years, NUS will be converting face-to-face lectures for large courses with 100 or more students to online lectures, he added. As part of this exercise, which will involve about 800 courses, students will watch online videos that could be 15 minutes long, interspersed with online assessments.

Physical tutorials will remain in groups of not more than 25 students, he said. An NUS spokesperson said in response to queries that this process of rolling out blended learning started in 2021 for undergraduate teaching, with the aim of improving learning outcomes for students.

“We think that it’s useful to have access to content online, but we want to reinforce with tutorials or small-group discussions,” added Prof Tan. “It makes it very convenient – whether you are a mature learner or undergraduate student – you can make use of your time when you’re travelling on the bus or train, to watch (the videos) and learn.”

“Our usual way of delivering content needs to change, because our students are different, the way that our students learn is different,” he said.

 

 

[Huat Zai]

You people remain stupid so it's easier for us to control, study so much for what?