1

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) ON REVISED TERTIARY TUITION FEE SUBSIDY (TTFS) SCHEME FOR MALAY STUDENTS

1) What is TTFS? The Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy (TTFS) scheme is an education subsidy for Malay students, which covers their tuition fees at tertiary institutions. The TTFS is established through an annual government grant to Yayasan MENDAKI (YM).

safeguard, support, foster and promote the educational interests of the Malays. Education is seen as the most effective lever towards securing the progress and socio-economic advancement of the Malay community.

TTFS replaced the automatic waiver of tertiary tuition fees for Malay students

in AY91/92. In 1989, Malay Members of Parliament (MMPs) had initiated the idea of revising the system of financing Malay students in tertiary institutions, and suggested replacing the automatic waiver of tuition fees with a criterion that would include means-testing. This idea was supported by then-Prime Minister (PM) Goh Chok Tong. TTFS was thus founded on two key principles:

i) To build a self-reliant community standing tall with other communities in

Singapore;

ii) For the better off within the community to help the less well-off.

The Government grant is based on the total enrolment of Malay students in local universities and polytechnics, and Yayasan MENDAKI disburses the grant to eligible students. Any Education Development Fund (EDF), which is used for educational assistance schemes and other educational programmes run by MENDAKI. The money saved from the better-off segment of the community will thus benefit students at all educational levels, not just in tertiary institutions.

Beneficiaries of EDF programmes range from families with toddlers, children attending madrasahs, and students in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. This enables optimal utilisation of funds to help those who require it through developmental educational programmes, such as tuition classes for primary and secondary school students, and preparatory workshops / programmes for primary school entrance or major examinations e.g. PSLE. In 2010, more than 13,000 Malay and Muslim students and families benefitted from EDF programmes. 2) How does the revised set of income eligibility criteria for TTFS differ from

the current criteria?

The amount of subsidy that each student receives is contingent on a set of income criteria. A comparison table of the current and revised TTFS criteria is as follows:

2

Current Criteria Revised Criteria

Eligibility Criterion Monthly Household Income (MHI) Monthly Per Capita Household Income (PCI)

Eligibility Levels 100% subsidy 70% subsidy: MHI $2,001 - $3,000

100% subsidy PCI $1,000 75% subsidy: PCI $1,001 - $1,200 50% subsidy: PCI $1,201 - $1,500

Tiers Two-tier Three-tier

With an upper bound of PCI $1,500, which corresponds to a household

income of about $6,000 for a four-member household, this revised income eligibility criteria will allow a higher proportion of Malay households to qualify for TTFS. 3) When will the Government next review the income eligibility criteria for

TTFS?

The Government will review the TTFS income criteria regularly to ensure that eligibility coverage does not fall below two-thirds of Malay households. 4) Who is eligible for TTFS?

A student is eligible for TTFS if he/she satisfies all of the following conditions:

a) The student is a Singapore Citizen (SC) or a bona fide resident of Singapore

and one of his/her parents (including adoptive parent and step-parent), living or deceased, is a Singapore citizen;

b) 1;

c) es not exceed

$1,500, where the student will enjoy:

(i) 100% subsidy if his/her PCI is $1,000 and below; (ii) 75% subsidy if his/her PCI is between $1,000 and $1,200; (iii) 50% subsidy if his/her PCI is between $1,200 and $1,500.

d) The student is receiving the MOE tuition fee grant;

e) The student is pursuing a first diploma or degree on a full-time basis at the

following local government tertiary institutions or programmes:

(i) Local universities (NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD) (ii) Polytechnics (NP, NYP, RP, SP, TP) (iii) Polytechnic - Foreign Specialised Institution (Poly-FSI) programmes

(offered by polytechnics and the Singapore Institute of Technology); and

1 Including Acehnese, Ambonese, Batak, Bugis, Baniarese, Boyanese, Butonese, Dusun, Dayak, Iban, Indonesia, Javanese, Kadazan, Kelabit, Minangkabau, Murut, Makasarese, Melanau, Sumatran, Sundanese, and Other Indonesian.

3

(iv) Technical Engineering Diploma (TED) offered by Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs)

Students pursuing their degrees / diplomas in private tertiary institutions in Singapore or who are studying overseas are not eligible for TTFS.

5) I have two races registered under the double-barrelled race policy. Am I

eligible for TTFS? mponent race at the point of admission to Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs) are eligible, subject to the other eligibility criteria indicated under Q4. 6) I do not qualify under the TTFS revised criteria as my monthly household

per capita income (PCI) is above $1,500. My family still finds it financially challenging to fund my tertiary education. Are there other avenues which I can tap on?

Yayasan MENDAKI currently exercises flexibility in approving subsidies for

students from families with extenuating circumstances, e.g. those supporting more than one child for tertiary education and families with members suffering from chronic medical problems. This appeal mechanism will continue.

For the better-off families who do not qualify for TTFS, there is a wide range of schemes that can be tapped on. The Supplementary Assistance Scheme (SAS) provides more interest-free loans to students ineligible for the full TTFS, while the Special Malay Bursary (SMB) supplements the living allowances of deserving Malay tertiary students.

Non-Malay Muslims are also eligible to apply for all other financial assistance schemes under YM, subject to selection criteria (e.g. income level, academic

- s

and the Goh Chok Tong Youth Promise Scholarship. For more information on these http://www.mendaki.org.sg).

7) What other schemes are available for students to tap on for educational

assistance?

The Government and the tertiary institutions are committed to ensuring that no deserving student, regardless of race, is denied a tertiary education because of financial difficulties. The Government and the tertiary institutions already provide schemes in the form of bursaries, loans and work-study assistance. With a combination of the government bursaries, Post Secondary Education Account (PSEA), study loans and work-study assistance, tertiary students from within the bottom 66% of households by income will not require any cash outlay to complete their tertiary education. These schemes are listed in Annex. Students who wish to find out more about the financial assistance schemes offered by the Government

4

In addition to national-level educational assistance schemes, each of the Self-

Help Groups2 (SHGs) have their own plethora of education awards, study loans, bursary schemes, scholarships and educational development programmes to ensure that students from their respective communities are sufficiently assisted where needed. For instance, non-Malay Muslims -free study loans.

2 The SHGs include Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), Yayasan MENDAKI (YM), Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA), and Eurasian Association (EA).

5

Annex

List of National-Level Financial Assistance Schemes for Tertiary Education There is a wide range of financial assistance schemes offered by the

Government, tertiary institutions, foundations and professional organisations, community groups and self-help groups. These include loans, bursaries and work-study schemes.

2 The government financial assistance schemes available at the AUs, polytechnics and SIT are listed below:

Scheme Application Eligibility Quantum per

year [for diploma

students]

Quantum per year [for

undergraduates]

Tuition Fee Loan (TFL) Scheme

All full-time diploma students and undergraduates

Up to 75% of tuition fee

Up to 90% of tuition fee

Study Loan (SL) Scheme

Full-time diploma students who are Singapore Citizens (SC) or Permanent Residents (PR); and undergraduates of all nationalities

Should have taken up the maximum TFL

Monthly household per capita

students

Up to 25% of tuition fee plus living allowance of $2,000 per annum

Up to 10% of tuition fee plus living allowance of $3,600 per annum

CDC/CCC Bursary

Full time students who are Singapore Citizens

Monthly household per capita income

$1,800 $2,900 Full-time students who are Singapore Citizens

Monthly household per capita income between $301 and $850

MOE Bursary

Full-time students who are Singapore Citizens

Monthly household per capita

$1,350 $2,150

Full-time students who are Singapore Citizens

Monthly household per capita income between $1,201 and $1,700

$450 $800

Notes:!1. All full-time students who are CPF members or dependants of CPF members can also tap on the

CPF Education Scheme, which can cover up to 100% of tuition fee. 2. Gross monthly household per capita income is defined as the total gross monthly income of

immediate and non-immediate family members over the total number of immediate and non-immediate family members.

2

Sec

tio

n 2

: F

amily

Inco

me

Dec

lara

tio

n

S/N

Fu

ll N

ame

(as

in N

RIC

)A

ge

NR

ICR

elat

ion

ship

Occ

up

atio

nM

on

thly

Gro

ss

Inco

me

($)

Nam

e o

f S

cho

ol /

Em

plo

yer

(if

self

-em

plo

yed

, sta

te c

om

pan

y n

ame)

1A

pplic

ant

Stu

dent

2F

athe

r

3M

othe

r

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Tota

l Mo

nth

ly G

ross

Inco

me

(A)

$

No

. of

Fam

ily M

emb

ers

(B)

PC

I (A

/ B

)$

For

fam

ily w

ith n

il in

com

e, p

leas

e st

ate

sour

ce o

f fun

ds fo

r da

ily e

xpen

ses.

Hou

se –

ren

tal $

____

___

Mar

ried-

sibl

ings

$__

____

_ F

reel

ance

jobs

$__

____

__

Oth

er, p

ls s

peci

fy: _

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

No

te:

1.

For

sin

gle

appl

ican

t, th

e fa

mily

is

to in

clud

e yo

urse

lf, y

our

pare

nts

/ gua

rdia

n, n

on-m

arrie

d im

med

iate

fam

ily m

embe

rs (

e.g.

sis

ters

& b

roth

ers)

, non

-mar

ried

non-

imm

edia

te

fam

ily m

embe

rs (

eg, a

unts

, unc

les,

gra

ndpa

rent

s) li

ving

in th

e sa

me

hous

ehol

d. It

exc

lude

s m

arrie

d fa

mily

mem

bers

eve

n if

they

sta

y in

the

sam

e ho

useh

old.

2.

For

mar

ried

appl

ican

t , th

e fa

mily

is

to in

clud

e yo

urse

lf, y

our

spou

se a

nd c

hild

ren

only

.3.

E

ach

wor

king

fam

ily m

embe

r in

the

sam

e ho

useh

old

mus

t sub

mit

a ph

otoc

opy

of h

is/h

er la

test

inco

me

advi

ce. I

f the

adv

ice

is n

ot a

vaila

ble,

ple

ase

subm

it a

phot

ocop

y of

a)

a)

End

orse

d st

atem

ent o

f gro

ss m

onth

ly in

com

e fr

om e

mpl

oyer

; or

b)

La

test

CP

F a

ccou

nt s

tate

men

t; or

c)

In

com

e ta

x as

sess

men

t ret

urns

If

you

have

han

dica

pped

fam

ily m

embe

rs li

ving

in th

e sa

me

hous

ehol

d, le

tter

of c

catio

n m

ust b

e at

tach

ed to

this

app

licat

ion

form

4.

If in

com

e ad

vice

is u

nava

ilabl

e du

e to

une

mpl

oym

ent,

self-

empl

oym

ent,

wor

king

on

ad-h

oc o

r pa

rt-t

ime

basi

s, th

e fa

mily

mem

ber

mus

t sub

mit

a si

gned

sel

f-de

clar

atio

n le

tter

alon

g w

ith p

hoto

copy

of t

he fo

llow

ing:

a)

La

test

CP

F a

ccou

nt s

tate

men

t; or

b)

Inco

me

of ta

x as

sess

men

t ret

urns

5.

Ple

ase

note

that

tota

l mon

thly

gro

ss in

com

e in

clud

es o

nly

the

basi

c in

com

e, M

onth

ly V

aria

ble

Com

pone

nt (

MV

C),

Non

-Pen

sion

able

Com

pone

nt (

NP

C),

Non

-Pen

sion

able

Var

iabl

e P

aym

ent (

NP

VP

),

mon

thly

allo

wan

ces

and

othe

r re

late

d co

mpo

nent

s (if

any

) bu

t exc

lude

all

othe

r al

low

ance

s su

ch a

s ov

ertim

e pa

y, le

ave

allo

wan

ce, b

onus

es, e

tc.

6.

NS

allo

wan

ces

will

be

excl

uded

from

the

mon

thly

inco

me

com

puta

tion.

Section 3: Parent’s Particulars

Father’s ParticularsFull Name (in block letters):

Status (Attach copy ofNRIC or death cert):

Living Deceased Status (Attach copy ofmarriage or divorcecert):

Married Divorced

Citizenship (Attach copy of NRICor citizenship, if any):

Singapore Citizen Singapore PR Others:________________

Date of Birth (DD/MM/YYYY): Country of Birth:

NRIC No.: Race as stated in NRIC:

Mother’s ParticularsFull Name (in block letters):

Status (Attach copy ofNRIC or death cert):

Living Deceased Status(Attach copy ofmarriage or divorcecert):

Married Divorced

Citizenship (Attach copy of NRICor citizenship, if any):

Singapore Citizen Singapore PR Others:________________

Date of Birth (DD/MM/YYYY): Country of Birth:

NRIC No.: Race as stated in NRIC:

Section 4: ChecklistPlease use the following checklist to ensure that the following documents have been submitted.Forms with incomplete documents will not be processed.1. I have enclosed a copy of each of the followings together with this application form: Yes No NAMy photograph

My birth certificateMy identity card (NRIC)

My father’s identity card

My mother’s identity card

My spouse’s identity card (if applicable)If not a Singapore Citizen by birth:

ngapore Citizenship certificate

father’s Singapore Citizenship certificate

her’s Singapore Citizenship certificate

Letter of certification of handicapped brother(s)/sister(s) (if applicable)

Latest pay-slips/income advice/official statements of monthly gross income/incometax assessment returns for self-employed and working family members (whereapplicable)Certificate(s) of death (if applicable)Certificate of marriage/divorce/remarriage (if applicable)

Widowed

Widowed

3

HP:

HP:

Section 4: Checklist

Please use the following checklist to ensure that the following documents have been submitted. Forms with incomplete documents will not be processed.

I have enclosed a copy of each of the followings together with this application form:

1. My photograph

2. My Birth cate

3. My identity card (NRIC)

4. My father’s identity card

5. My mother’s identity card

6. My spouse’s identity card (if applicable)

7. If not a Singapore Citizen by birth:

- My Singapore Citizenship c cate

- My father’s Singapore Citizenship c cate

- My mother’s Singapore Citizenship c cate

8. Letter of c cation of handicapped brother(s)/sister(s) (if applicable)

9. Latest pay-slips/income advic cial statements of monthly gross income/income tax assessment returns for self-employed and working family members (where applicable)

10. cate(s) of Death (if applicable)

11. cate of Divorce/Custody (if applicable)

12. Breakdown of tuition fees have been indicated in Section 1

Yes No NA

never

5

SUPPLEMENTARY ASSISTANCE LOAN Only for MALAY students who are not receiving any subsidy or in receipt of less than

(100%) subsidy under the Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy (TTFS) Scheme.

Instructions to applicants: You have to furnish us with 2 guarantors for the loan application. Please ll-up the form on page 6 and enclose a copy of

the guarantors’ recent payslip and NRIC (the information will be kept c l). Kindly update the guarantors’ latest address during the l disbursement of the cheque by submitting a photocopy of

their NRIC. Below are details of the loan scheme for your reference. Please do not leave any items blank. INCOMPLETE FORMS WILL NOT BE PROCESSED.

Pre- requisites of GuarantorsYou must sign an agreement with MENDAKI for the repayment of the loan. Applicants are required to furnish 2 guarantors acceptable to MENDAKI. The acceptability of the 2 guarantors will be at the discretion of the Loans Committee. The guarantors must ful ll the following requirements:

SingaporeanBetween the age of 21 and 55 years oldGross monthly income of at least $1,500 and aboveGainfully employed for the past 1 yearMust not be the applicant’s parents, siblings or staying in the same householdThe and second guarantor must not be from the same householdSelf-employed guarantors must submit their latest IRAS form or CPF statement

Loan AgreementSuccessful applicants and their guarantors are required to sign a loan agreement, which is also known as the loan deed. The schedule for the signing of agreement will be informed through the cation letter sent to applicant when the loan is approved. As per the loan deed, the borrower needs to observe and ful ll the following conditions:

o Complete the course of study o No change in the agreed length of studyo No change in the course of studyo No withdrawal from or termination of the course of studyo No deferment without any valid reasons

If the borrower did not ful ll one of the above conditions or any of the terms in the loan agreement, the borrower will be considered to have breached the contract of the loan agreement. The full amount of the loan will have to be repaid immediately.

Loan Quantum

Category Loan Amount

Students receiving 75% TTFS 25% of the tuition fees

Students receiving 50% TTFS 50% of the tuition fees

Students not receiving TTFS 80% of the tuition fees

The loan will be given for the entire course of study and the loan amount is given at the discretion of the Loans Committee, after taking into consideration the cial circumstances of the applicant, the course of study and any other relevant criteria. The decision of the Loans

Loan Disbursement

The disbursement of the loan cheque for the year will be made upon completion of the loan deed. The loan cheque will be made payable to the student or institution. Subsequent loan disbursements will be given only after the submission of the l exam result slip from each academic year.

Loan Repayment

Repayment of the loan will commence 6 months after the completion of the course. For the purpose of repayment, students must sign a GIRO form upon signing the loan deed. The minimum monthly repayment amount is as follows:

a) Diploma courses - $100 b) Degree courses (excluding Medicine) - $250 c) Degree (Medicine) - $500

This is subject to an annual progressive increment of $100.

6

Particulars of Guarantors (Please furnish a copy of the guarantors’ recent payslips and NRIC)

Guarantor 1 :

Full Name (as per NRIC)

Address :

Contact No : (Residence) (Hp) (Office)

NRIC No :M/F:redneG:htriBfoetaD

Occupation :Years of service in current occupation :

Name & Address of Employer :

Gross Monthly Income :

Are you a standing as guarantor for any other person? Yes / No

If yes, please furnish details: _________________________________________________________

Have you ever been made bankrupt or become insolvent : Yes / No

Are there any outstanding judgement / court cases against you? Yes / No

If yes, please furnish details : ______________________________________________________

Declaration by Guarantor 1I hereby declare that the information given in this application is true and correct, that I have not willfully suppressed any material fact.

___________________________ _________________ Signature of Guarantor 1 Date

Guarantor 2 :

Full Name (as per NRIC)

Address :

Contact No : (Residence) (Hp) (Office)

NRIC No :M/F:redneG:htriBfoetaD

Occupation :Years of service in current occupation :

Name & Address of Employer :

Gross Monthly Income :

Are you a standing as guarantor for any other person? Yes / No

If yes, please furnish details: _________________________________________________________

Have you ever been made bankrupt or become insolvent : Yes / No

Are there any outstanding judgment / court cases against you? Yes / No

If yes, please furnish details : ______________________________________________________

Declaration by Guarantor 2I hereby declare that the information given in this application is true and correct, that I have not willfully suppressed any material fact.

___________________________ _________________ Signature of Guarantor 2 Date__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I understand that the acceptance of my loan application by Yayasan MENDAKIdoes not bind MENDAKI to approve the loan applied for and that MENDAKI is ata liberty to reject the application without assigning any reason for doing so. _________________________________

Relationship to applicant :

Relationship to applicant :

Signature of Loan Applicant / Date