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Page 2 of 3 With little or no subsidy for Singaporeans, an overseas education will require deep pockets.Not only that, the cost of living in many of the popular destinations of Singaporean students is higher compared with the annual average of $11,600 or $967 a month in Singapore. For example, in Australia, the cost of living averages $21,600 a year, in part because of accommodation costs. Factors that are of importance are the type of course and the duration of the entire study. The average total cost (tuition fee plus cost of living) for a classroom based honours degree in the United Kingdom is about $143,000 while a corresponding medical degree is a whopping $412,000! An honours degree in United Kingdom only require three years of duration while a medical degree requires five years. The yearly tuition fee of a medical degree is 138% more expensive as well. An honours degree in Britain requires three years of study. It is four years in Singapore. Even within a country, tuition fees vary from state to state. According to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, the annual tuition fees for general arts and science programs lie between $9820 to $23,118 in Ontario while a similar program in Manitoba cost $7121 to $10,631. The reputation and quality of a university make a difference, too. At the Imperial College of London, which is well-known for its engineering courses, the tuition fee for an electrical and electronic engineering undergraduate course is 47 per cent higher than the average cost of a laboratory-based degree course in Britain. Future cost PREDICTING the future cost of education is a complicated affair. The subsidies for Singapore tertiary education depend largely on government policy. In 1992, Singaporeans and permanent residents received 80 per cent of government subsidy for non-laboratory-based undergraduate studies in NUS. Today, the subsidy is 70 per cent. 
By my estimates, the reduction in subsidy almost entirely accounts for the increase in tuition fees paid by Singaporeans and permanent residents over the past 14 years. In addition, the fact that both NUS and NTU have been given financial autonomy further increases the difficulty of predicting future fees increases.
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