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Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang: UNSW Flop not my fault

Published Friday, May 25, 2007 by Singapore Election |

ST
May 25, 2007

S'pore was willing to back smaller UNSW: Hng Kiang

(SINGAPORE) Singapore was prepared to support a smaller University of New South Wales (UNSW) campus here, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said yesterday.

The Economic Development Board did not reject UNSW's proposal for a 2,000-student campus and in fact asked for a business plan, he said. 'EDB, of course, will support it accordingly.'

Mr Lim said UNSW had decided it would be better to pull out. 'I think basically they have come to the conclusion that it is not viable and not sustainable. And that's their business decision, and so we just respect their decision,' he said.

Speaking to reporters yesterday on the sidelines of the Global Trader Summit organised by IE Singapore, Mr Lim was responding to media questions on the Australian university's sudden decision to quit Singapore.

EDB, which has not said how much it has invested in the local UNSW campus, is understood to support incoming institutions with a combination of grants and loans. UNSW planned to build a campus for 15,000 students here, but the target was scaled down dramatically to 2,000 recently after poor initial enrolment numbers.

In a surprise statement on Wednesday, UNSW Vice-Chancellor Fred Hilmer said the Singapore campus will close on June 28 at the end of the current semester. All 148 enrolled students will be offered places at UNSW's home campus in Sydney, with scholarships to help with travel and accommodation costs.

Singapore's first foreign private university, UNSW was reportedly a draw for Singaporeans despite its higher fees. According to previous media reports, UNSW charged tuition fees of about $23,000 to $29,000 a year - more than three times as much as local universities charge.

Despite UNSW's decision to pull out, Mr Lim said yesterday that Singapore will continue to work towards attracting 150,000 foreign students by 2015 to become a 'global schoolhouse'.

'We still have that ambitious target, a very stretched target,' he said. 'We are nearly halfway there. We will continue to work hard to try and bring other providers here to build up the whole education landscape.'

All the three local universities contacted said yesterday they are in the final stages of admissions exercise but willing to consider applications from UNSW students on a case-by-case basis.

At the National University of Singapore, admission to courses that requires an interview or test have closed. Those interested in making the switch to local universities should contact their admissions offices before the end of this month.

1 Responses to “Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang: UNSW Flop not my fault”

Anonymous on 1:24 AM SGT

It always not their fault when something happen. They are angle while the rest of us are devil.

Singapore Election Watch

Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang: UNSW Flop not my fault

1 Responses to “Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang: UNSW Flop not my fault”

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