06 October 2019
Two-thirds of the undergraduates studying medicine and dentistry at Singapore’s local universities come from households earning more than $9,000 a month.
This was revealed by the Ministry of Education recently, confirming worldwide trends that students from higher socio-economic groups dominate medical schools.
MOE has previously announced that bursaries for medicine and dentistry courses would be significantly increased to ensure they remain open to students from all backgrounds.
These courses are the most expensive university programmes because of the higher costs involved, including include laboratories and other facilities.
Overall, about a fifth of Singaporeans enrolled in these two courses across NUS and NTU have received financial aid over the past three years, said the MOE.