Enrolment at NUS' Medical Faculty

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Education (a) in the past three years, how many students were enrolled at the National University of Singapore to study medicine; (b) how many are foreign students, including ASEAN scholars; (c) how many Singaporean students have been rejected for admission to NUS' medical faculty in the past three years; (d) what are the main reasons for rejecting these students; and (e) how many of the rejected Singaporean students went overseas to study medicine.

The average annual intake at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (YLLSOM) over the past three years was 280 students. An average of three foreign students was admitted each year, of which one to two were ASEAN scholars. This is less than 1% of total intake.

Out of the applicants who applied to Medicine as their first choice in the past three years, about 1,000 applicants per year were rejected. Some of them did not meet all the necessary admission criteria. Others met the criteria but were not admitted as the number of applicants exceeded the number of places available.

YLLSOM is a very popular choice and attracts applications from many highly-qualified Singaporean students. The admission process is based on merit and is highly selective. Decisions on admissions take into account an applicant's academic grade, personal portfolio, as well as his performance in a Focused Skills Assessment, a Situational Judgement Test and an interview. The admission assessment process is rigorous. Candidates are assessed not only on academic ability, but also other attributes, such as good communication skills, a positive work ethic and care and empathy for patients.

MOE does not have data on the number of rejected Singaporean students who went overseas to study medicine.

The Government also recognises the rising need for doctors due to the changes in Singapore's demography. In response to this projected increase in demand, we have thus increased the pipeline of locally trained doctors by expanding the intake of YLLSOM and setting up two additional medical schools the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine at Nanyang Technological University.