介绍:
Hello, welcome to Education Today, brought to you from our studio here in Beijing.
I'm Luo Yu, sitting in for Wu You. And joining me in the studio is Farrah.
Coming up, we are going to talk about overseas education in Singapore.
Last week, we touched upon the QS University Rankings of Asia where The National University of Singapore (NUS) tops the list for the first time.
This is the first year in the ranking's five- year history that a Hong Kong institution has not topped the table. Last year's first and second ranked institutions, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Hong Kong University, have fallen to fifth and third places respectively.
However, as Asia's education center, Singapore may be losing its shine as a destination for foreign students.
Industry players say that the country is getting more expensive to study in and jobs are harder to come by after graduation, dimming the city state's allure as an education hub.
There are about 75,000 student pass holders as at July, figures from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority showed. The number stood at 84,000 two years ago.
The figures include foreign students enrolled in private and public institutions, including secondary schools, polytechnics and universities.
Education consultant Aaron Yang from Destiny Consultant says that Singapore has never been really cheap for foreigners, but in the past, these students could get jobs much easier after graduation. Aaron's job is to recruit Chinese students for private educational institutions.
He says getting a job after graduation was one of Singapore's biggest competitive advantages, but it no longer offers this."
Besides dwindling employment options, students are also avoiding the island nation due to increasing costs, which are fuelled partly by a strong Singapore currency.
A recent survey by HSBC ranked the country as the second most expensive place among 15 destinations for foreign undergraduates.
A foreigner will spend an average of US$39,000 (S$49,760) a year studying here and US$42,000 in Australia.
The United States came in third at US$36,600, while Britain was fourth at US$35,000.
In Singapore, rent and tuition fees have pounded foreign students' pockets most heavily.
For instance, a year at the National University of Singapore's business school will cost a foreign student $31,200 now - a 9 per cent increase from 2012. A Singaporean student pays $9,250 today.
Similarly, property prices have spiked since the 2008 global financial crisis.
Rent went up, especially for properties located near schools, including private schools.
Both the Council for Private Education - which regulates private school operators - and private institution Kaplan Singapore report a drop in the number of foreign students.
Observers have noticed a slowdown in the number of foreigners being enrolled in mainstream schools here too.
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For more on this, we are joined by Ian Boon Kwok Sien, Programme Director of Capital 95.8FM, MediaCorp in Sigapore. He is an NUS alumni.
And Charmaine Tay, a Singaporean citizen.
Ending:
And that's all for this episode of Education Today.
Education Today is aired at 11:20am on weekdays live on AM 846 in Beijing and other overseas stations.
I'm Luo Yu in Beijing. Thank you for listening. Coming up next is Sports Today with Jordan Lee. Stay tuned.
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