Debated in Parliament on 26 Feb 2026.
Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat asked the Minister for Education (a) what is the total amount of Government spending to foreign university partners for curriculum development and licensing across all international university partnerships in the past 25 years; (b) what metrics are used to evaluate success beyond initial curriculum transfers for such spendings; and (c) whether the Ministry has conducted cost-benefit analysis comparing maintained partnerships like Duke-NUS versus terminated ones like Yale-NUS.
Our Autonomous Universities (AUs) collaborate with a wide range of international partners in education and research. This allows our AUs and students to benefit from the experiences of reputable universities around the world, while also contributing to knowledge creation in areas of mutual benefit. Over time, these collaborations progress, evolve and mature. In some cases, they come to a natural end when both parties no longer find it mutually beneficial.
Some collaborations have associated costs to pay for the resources committed by overseas university partners towards such efforts. The AUs and the Ministry of Education are mindful that the amount of funding required by AUs to enter into such partnerships should be commensurate with the value obtained, including developing in Singapore capabilities or opportunities that had not previously existed and positioning our AUs well for the future.
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