SINGAPORE - School fees for students who are permanent residents (PR)
and international students (IS) in Government and Government-aided
schools will go up starting January to "further differentiate fees by
citizenship", said the Ministry of Education (MOE) this morning.
School fees will increase by S$50 to S$80 per month for students
who are PR and by S$115 to S$250 per month for IS. School fees for
students who are Singapore Citizens (SC) will remain unchanged.
Miscellaneous fees, which were last revised in January 2005, will
also be increased in January. The monthly standard miscellaneous fees
will increase by S$1.00 at primary level, S$2.00 at secondary level and
S$2.50 at Pre-University level for all students.
The
miscellaneous fees collected are retained by the schools to defray the
cost of teaching resources and materials used by students. For those in
need of financial assistance, MOE said it has the Financial Assistance
Scheme (FAS) to help them pay for school fees, standard miscellaneous
fees and basic schooling expenses such as textbooks and school attire.
The income criteria of the scheme were recently revised in March, this
year. Students who are Singapore Citizens and come from a family with a
gross household income of not more than S$2,500 per month are eligible
for financial assistance. They also qualify for the scheme if their per
capita household income does not exceed S$625 per month.
-- TODAY