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Source:
www.moe.gov.sg |
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Autonomous Universities - Towards
peaks of excellence |
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The University Autonomy, Governance and Funding
Steering Committee has released its preliminary recommendations to devolve
greater autonomy to our three publicly-funded universities, which will enable
them to differentiate themselves and chart their own strategies towards
achieving peaks of excellence. |
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The Steering Committee is chaired by LG(NS) Lim
Chuan Poh, Permanent Secretary (Education). A list of the members is provided
at
Annex. |
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Key Thrusts of UAGF Recommendations |
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The Steering Committee recommends that NUS and NTU
become autonomous universities by being corporatised as not-for-profit
companies, similar to how SMU is currently set up. |
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As autonomous universities, NUS, NTU and
SMU will be given greater flexibility to decide on matters such as their
internal governance, budget utilisation, tuition fees and admission
requirements. These flexibilities given to our universities will enable them
to differentiate themselves and pursue their own strategies to bring about the
most optimal outcomes for their stakeholders. |
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NUS and NTU are already very good universities. As
the government continues with its strong support for the universities, there
is much that the universities can gain from cultivating a greater sense of
ownership among the larger university community. |
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The contributions and support of this larger
community, building on the strong government support, will go a long way
towards helping our universities achieve peaks of excellence. |
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Giving the universities autonomy sends a clear
signal that the universities belong to the stakeholders. It will help to
engender a mindset change and instil a greater sense of pride among the key
university stakeholders, including Council members, senior management,
faculty, students and alumni, so that they will be encouraged to play a more
active role in charting the future, and shaping the unique culture and
identity of their universities. |
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Even as we seek to devolve greater autonomy to NUS,
NTU and SMU, we remain mindful that our universities are vital national
institutions and they have a public obligation to fulfil. They contribute to
Singapore's progress and development through providing quality education, and
knowledge creation. Hence, we need to ensure that our universities’ missions
remain firmly aligned with our national strategic objectives. |
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At the same time, our universities have to
remain accountable for the use of public funds. To this end, the Steering
Committee proposes that the Minister for Education appoint the university
Council members. |
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In addition, the Steering Committee recommends
that an enhanced accountability framework for universities be introduced,
comprising the existing Quality Assurance Framework for Universities (QAFU),
and the proposed Policy and Performance Agreements between MOE and each
university. |
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The Government remains committed to being the
principal source of funding for our universities. This commitment will not be
reduced as a result of increased contributions from the other stakeholders.
The Steering Committee recommends that the Government continue to match the
endowment donations that the universities raise from their stakeholders. |
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In addition, MOE’s funding will be provided
through a fungible block budget to give the universities greater financial
autonomy to apply the resource where it creates the most value. Access to
university education to qualified Singaporean students will remain
“needs-blind” and university education will be kept affordable. |
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For the financially needy, there will also be a
suite of student financing schemes, so that qualified students regardless of
their financial background, can pursue university education. |
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Next Steps |
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The 5th International Academic Advisory Panel (IAAP),
which comprises distinguished academic and industry leaders from around the
world, will be meeting in Singapore on 11-14 January 2005 to deliberate and
provide inputs on the Steering Committee's preliminary recommendations. |
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Following the IAAP meeting, we expect the
Committee’s recommendations to be further debated at the 2005 Committee of
Supply, before the Government announces its final decision on the Committee’s
recommendations by May 2005. |
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Background |
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In 2000, MOE embarked on a University Governance
and Funding (UGF) review, under which NUS and NTU were given some operational
autonomy, particularly in terms of staff remuneration and a block budget for
recurrent expenditure. |
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The internal governance structures of the
universities were also strengthened, with university Councils encouraged to
play a role in giving inputs for strategic planning, ensuring that the
university is progressing according to its strategic plans and stipulated
objectives, and overseeing the internal quality assurance systems. |
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Following the Government’s acceptance of the
University Admission Committee’s recommendations in 2004, NUS and NTU have
also been given the flexibility to determine the profile of up to 10% of their
intakes using their own independent admission criteria. |
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However, as statutory boards, NUS and NTU still
have to refer to the Government for approval each time they want to make an
important decision, e.g. changing their core admission requirements or
investing in capital projects. SMU on the other hand, enjoys significantly
more autonomy than NUS and NTU as it is set up as a private not-for-profit
corporation. It operates much more like a private university even though it
also receives significant Government funding. For example, it is free to
determine its own tuition fees and admission criteria. |
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The Steering Committee was established in April
2004 by Minister for Education, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam. The Steering
Committee was tasked to recommend an appropriate model of autonomy for
Singapore’s publicly-funded universities that will enable them to respond to
the opportunities and challenges of a more competitive university landscape,
and to achieve global excellence. |
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Please see the executive
summary and
preliminary report of the Steering Committee for further details. |
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More.....(annex) |
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Source:
www.moe.gov.sg Press Release 6 Jan 2005 |
UAGFSC recommends autonomy for NUS & NTU
