Number who Completed Continuing Education and Training Courses in Last Two Years and Median Course Fee Rate

Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong asked the Minister for Education (a) what is the number of Singaporeans who completed Continuing Education and Training (CET) courses in 2022 as compared to 2021; (b) what is the median course fee for courses provided by Institutes of Higher Learning; and (c) whether there are further plans to make such courses more affordable in 2023.

Around 660,000 individuals benefited from Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes supported by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) in 2021, compared to 540,000 in 2020. SSG will release the 2022 figures next month.

Fees for CET programmes vary depending on the type of courses, subject area, course duration and combination of modules that the students take up. After Government subsidies, the fee range for Singapore Citizens (SCs) pursuing full-qualification CET programmes at the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) are as follows:

(a) For a part-time Nitec and Higher Nitec at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), the subsidised fee is around $200.

(b) For a part-time Diploma at the polytechnics, the subsidised fee is about $2,400, while that of a post-Diploma programme could range from $700 to $2,100.

(c) For a part-time undergraduate degree at the Autonomous Universities (AUs), the subsidised fee varies between $14,000 and $25,000 depending on the type of course.

(d) The fees cited are for the full-course duration of the full-qualification programme.

The IHLs also offer a diverse range of modular courses for just in time skills upgrading. SSG provides course fee subsidies of up to 70% for these courses. The median fee for modular courses is around $150 for polytechnics and ITEs (POLITE), and $600 for AUs respectively.

Under the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy (MCES), SCs aged 40 and above also receive higher subsidies of up to 90% of course fees.

The Government will continue to invest significantly in CET to ensure that Singaporeans can access reskilling and upskilling opportunities throughout their working lives. We are also studying ways to provide more targeted support for segments of the workforce who might require more help, such as mid-career workers in their 40s and 50s.