Proportion of Students from Lowest Household Income Tier Progressing to University
Ministry of EducationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the university progression rates of students from the lowest socio-economic status (SES) tier compared to the overall cohort and across different ethnicities. Ms Eileen Chong Pei Shan requested longitudinal data, and Minister for National Development Desmond Lee reported that progression for the bottom 20% SES tier rose from 15% to 23% over a decade. He noted that the overall cohort progression increased from 28% to 42% and that improvements were observed across all ethnicities within every SES category. The Minister clarified that these figures exclude part-time and non-publicly funded programmes, emphasizing that various upgrading pathways remain available to students. The Ministry of Education continues to provide financial assistance and expanded mentoring opportunities to ensure that financial barriers do not impede students from achieving their educational aspirations.
Transcript
112 Ms Eileen Chong Pei Shan asked the Minister for Education (a) for each cohort over the past decade, what proportion of students from the lowest household income tier progressed to university studies compared to the overall cohort; and (b) whether the progression rate differs by ethnicity within the same income tier.
Mr Desmond Lee: Among those who entered primary school in 2008, 23% of students from the lowest 20% by socio-economic status (SES), which takes into account parents' education level and housing type, had progressed to publicly-funded full-time degree programmes by the age of 24 (in 2025). This is compared to the progression rate of 15% from a decade ago for the same SES tier. Similarly, progression for the overall cohort had increased to 42%, compared to 28% from a decade ago.
The improvement in progression to publicly-funded full-time degree programmes by the age of 24 is seen across all ethnicities for all SES.
The figures do not include students who pursue non-publicly funded university programmes, part-time degree programmes and those who worked for some time and progressed to publicly-funded programmes after the age of 24. Besides attending university, there are also other upgrading pathways.
The Ministry of Education will continue to help students from different backgrounds access opportunities. This includes providing financial support for students from lower-income households so that financial barriers do not impede their educational aspirations and progression; and working with other agencies to expand mentoring opportunities to support students to navigate transitions through education and work more confidently.