Employment Status of International Student Tuition Grant Holders

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song, Aljunied GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education in each year from 2017 to 2023 (a) how many international students who received the MOE Tuition Grant graduated from local Institutes of Higher Learning; (b) how many failed to update the Ministry of their employment status with Singapore entities within (i) one year (ii) two years or (iii) three years of graduation; and (c) what are the most common reasons cited for being unable to find work in Singapore entities.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song, Aljunied GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education in each year from 2017 to 2023 (a) how many international students who received the MOE Tuition Grant applied for bond deferments due to their inability to find work in a Singapore entity; and (b) how many were granted bond deferments on that basis.

Response

1. From 2017 to 2023, on average, about 2,900 international students received the Tuition Grant graduate each year from our polytechnics and autonomous universities. Within the first three years of graduating, more than 8 in 10 were employed. Of the remainder, the majority were granted deferment for further studies.