June 16, 2023, 05:50 PM
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A group of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) students have banded together to call for the university's financial aid system to improve.
The group, NTU Financial Aid Friends, are campaigning to share their suggestions and concrete proposals to help NTU improve the process of obtaining financial aid.
The group also drew up a dossier outlining the broad issues that need improvement.
Issues NTU students face
In the dossier, NTU Financial Aid and Friends pointed out that NTU's financial aid amount is lower than other autonomous universities in Singapore, such as the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Management University (SMU).
The group called for improved communication from NTU during the different stages of the application process, flexibility for students facing extenuating circumstances, and the online system that is apparently broken and inaccessible on numerous occasions.
The group has also claimed a lack of transparency surrounding the nature of the financial aid given.
There is also the issue of the timeline of bursary disbursement, where the funds, on occasion, are disbursed after certain fees are due.
The group also received feedback from students that those with the same per capita income ended up receiving different amounts of financial aid from other universities.
Other issues were listed, like no financial aid coverage for hall fees.
Sat down with NTU
According to NTU Financial Aid and Friends' Instagram posts, the group sat with NTU on Apr. 5, 2023, to discuss the issues.
NTU had apparently contacted the group less than 12 hours after their first post on Instagram.
During the discussion, NTU apparently told the group that documents like the student e-bill cannot be "altered currently due to technical reasons".
For those who have difficulty paying school fees, they only need to pay at the time of the final e-bill, NTU indicated, which is not the same as a reference bill that is sent out before.
For students with extenuating circumstances, NTU said they should approach the student care managers, who will help them liaise with the financial aid office.
In addition, the university shared that they cannot ensure that bursaries will be disbursed before tuition fees and other fees are billed.
The group also shared that speaking to NTU staff confirmed their "suspicions" that few students receive the NTU bursary each year and that NTU cannot guarantee that students under a certain per capita income will receive the NTU bursary.
NTU also told the group that the NTU bursary is reserved for are the "most needy students" in "extreme situation", but the criteria for the NTU bursary is apparently unclear.
Responses by NTU and MOE
In response to Mothership, NTU said it reached out to the group to understand the students' concerns and provide clarification on the financial aid application process.
It also shared that a follow-up meeting with the group is being arranged.
NTU said bursaries are "usually" disbursed before school fees are due.
The school advised those financial aid students facing difficulties meeting fee deadlines to contact their school's Associate Chair (Students) office or student care managers for help.
According to NTU, the school provides additional financial support on top of the Ministry of Education (MOE) bursaries in the form of NTU bursaries and about 200 donor-funded bursaries.
These bursaries are needs-based and disbursed to eligible students based on their gross monthly household per capita income to ensure a "fair" system.
During the last academic year, more than 7,000 students received those bursaries, with about 14 per cent of them from the lowest-income group having their tuition fees fully funded.
"The university is committed to supporting our students with financial needs, to ensure that no student misses out on an NTU education because of financial reasons," the school said.
A MOE spokesperson told Mothership that the ministry and autonomous universities are "committed to ensuring no student is denied higher education because of financial difficulty".
MOE also stated that the government bursaries cover up to the 66th percentile of households, with those from low-income families receiving more support.
Significant enhancements were made to the government bursaries in 2020 to strengthen financial support for Singaporeans, it was added.
The spokesperson shared that the universities offer a vast range of student financing schemes that come in the form of scholarships, bursaries, loans and work-study schemes that cover tuition fees and help students "defray the cost of living".
The ministry advised students with financial difficulties to approach their universities' financial aid office.
Responding to NTU's statement
In an Instagram post on Jun. 6, NTU Financial Aid and Friends shared their response to NTU's statement.
The group shared proof that some students receive their bursaries after school fees are due.
Photo via Instagram
Photo via Instagram
The group also clarified that donated bursaries, which have their own criteria, are not the same as needs-based bursaries supplied by the school.
The group stated that when they conducted focus groups, none of the students received the NTU bursary, even those whose per capita household income was S$0.
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