Assistance to NTU to Resolve Hall Allocation Issue Faced by Students
Ministry of EducationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Associate Professor Jamus Jerome Lim’s inquiry regarding the assistance provided to Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to resolve recent student hall allocation issues. Minister Chan Chun Sing explained that demand rose by 20% while hostel capacity had been reduced to minimize COVID-19 transmission risks under safe management measures. He noted that the Ministry has since worked with autonomous universities to safely increase capacity following progress in the national vaccination program. NTU is currently helping unallocated students find alternative housing and is considering students with exceptional circumstances on a case-by-case basis. To further support commuting students, the university is expanding the coverage and frequency of its island-wide shuttle bus services.
Transcript
14 Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Education what assistance is the Ministry offering to NTU to resolve the hall allocation issue faced by students.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: NTU has residential hostels which cater to students who wish to live on-campus. Staying on-campus is not guaranteed by NTU except for Years 1 and 2 students. For Years 3 and 4 students applying for hall places, they are prioritised based on their participation in hostel activities and co-curricular activities (CCAs).
This year, NTU saw exceptionally strong demand, with around 20% more applications for hostel places, compared to previous years. Some of these applications are from incoming new students while the rest are from existing students who wish to continue staying on-campus and those who had previously been staying off-campus but now wish to move into the NTU hostels.
In view of the higher risk of COVID-19 transmission associated with communal living arrangements, MOE has been working closely with the Autonomous Universities (AUs) since last year to put in place strict Safe Management Measures (SMMs) in the hostels to safeguard the health and well-being of students. This had reduced hostel capacity to minimise risks of transmission.
With vaccinations now well under way and the expected strong take-up, MOE has worked with the AUs to allow more students to stay in hostels, with strict SMMs continuing to be in place.
With this increase, NTU has allocated more hostel places to students, including international students and those who would have been previously guaranteed a hall space under NTU’s two years’ guaranteed hall accommodation guideline. Students with exceptional circumstances are also considered on a case-by-case basis.
For students who have not been allocated a hostel space and have difficulty finding housing options, NTU has been helping them to find alternative accommodation. To better support its students, NTU is also expanding the coverage and increasing the frequency of its island-wide shuttle bus services to support students’ travel from pick-up points near their places of residence to campus.