Total Tuition Study Grants Given to International Students who Defaulted on Repayment

Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Minister for Education from 2010 to 2013 (a) what is the total amount of tuition grants given to international students in the Polytechnics and publicly-funded Universities who defaulted on their agreement to work in a Singapore-based company for three years upon graduation; and (b) what actions are taken to recover the tuition grants.

Mdm Speaker, International students who receive tuition grants are required to work in a Singapore-based company for three years upon graduation to supplement our

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labour force.

For those who graduated between 2010 and 2013, about eight in 10 international students who received tuition grants in our Polytechnics and Autonomous Universities had either started serving their tuition grant bonds promptly upon graduation and contribute immediately to Singapore's economy, or have been granted approval by MOE to defer their service obligation to pursue further studies. This does not mean that the remaining international students are in default. Some did not start work immediately upon graduation as they have gone overseas for further study but did not seek deferment approval from MOE, some are in the midst of seeking deferment approval, and some are still seeking employment.

MOE has in place bond tracking and enforcement measures to track tuition grant recipients for bond fulfilment. However, the current tracking and enforcement efforts need to be tightened to facilitate more immediate and closer tracking of tuition grant recipients who had not yet started work upon graduation, or who have not sought formal approval for deferment. As MOE is tightening the processes and tracking is still in progress, the final figures are not currently available.

Action will be taken against those who default on their service obligations by pursuing liquidated damages from these individuals. Where liquidated damages cannot be recovered, their status as bond defaulters will be taken into consideration should they subsequently apply to work or reside in Singapore.

Mdm Speaker, two in 10 translates to 20% who did not seek permission from MOE for deferment and they did not start work. Is this correct, since eight in 10 seek MOE's permission or work immediately? So, two in 10 based on the figure given by the Minister works out to about 780. I would like to ask the Minister how much was recovered to-date.

I thank the Member for the supplementary question. As I have said, the two in 10 does not mean that they are in default. Some did not start work immediately upon graduation as they have gone overseas for further study but did not seek deferment approval. Some are in the midst of seeking deferment approval. And some are still seeking employment. Therefore, the other question about how much is the amount is not relevant.

Thank you, Mdm Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister is there a bond for the international

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students that seek deferment and is there a maximum duration that is allowed for these students to have their deferment.

The question on if there is a bond: they are required to come back to fulfil the tuition grant bond, so the answer is "yes". The second question is how long is the deferment: it depends on the nature of the course that they are pursuing. If they are doing a PhD, for instance, the deferment would be longer. If they are doing a Masters programme, for instance, then it would be shorter. It varies on a case-by-case basis.