10 July 2020
Singapore’s six government-funded universities are offering around 2,000 more places to prospective students this year.
Some of the offers will go to Singaporeans whose overseas study plans have to be put on hold because of the global human malware situation. Local universities held a second admissions exercise in May to cater to this group of students.
Other spots have also been allocated to polytechnic diploma holders who had previously intended to join the workforce but are now opting to further their studies because of the weak job market.
Because of the additional effort made their year to increase the number of university places, the Ministry of Education said it expects the cohort participation rate (CPR) to increase slightly this year, by up to 2 percentage points, from the originally planned 40 per cent.
The MOE said that Singaporean students who are midway through their degree studies overseas, but who now wish to switch to studying locally, can write directly to the autonomous universities. Their applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. This includes a review of whether credit transfers can be granted.
Some students have indicated that they are planning to defer their studies by three to six months. They can sign up for continuing education and training modular courses offered by the universities during this period.