Raffles school fees

Jump in school fees at Raffles, Hwa Chong JCs
Both say hike is necessary to improve quality of courses in integrated programme

Nov 29, 2005 The Straits Times

SCHOOL fees at Hwa Chong and Raffles junior colleges will go up next year from the current $26 to $225 and $28 to $250 a month respectively.

The two schools say the increase will enable them to offer better quality courses as part of their integrated programme (IP), like intensive science research and customised leadership programmes.

While the increase - which includes supplementary and laboratory fees - is steep, the amounts are similar to charges levied on students at other independent schools offering the integrated programme.

Students at Raffles Institution pay $200 a month while those at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) pay $280 to $300. Students in the school's International Baccalaureate programme will pay $450 next year.

Fees at Hwa Chong will go up by $25 a year from 2007, reaching $300 in 2009. Raffles JC fees will rise $50 in 2007 to $300.

Hwa Chong Institution principal Ang Wee Hiong said the junior college has not raised fees since it went independent last year and has to do so from next year to maintain the quality of the IP.

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Raffles JC principal Winston Hodge said additional resources are needed to support student-centred programmes, like mentorship, research studies and industrial attachments.

It will have a one-stop student services centre on campus to help with scholarship support and psychological counselling.

Heads of both schools stressed that no deserving student will be deprived of a place because of financial difficulties as there are adequate aid schemes in place.

However, students who are not from feeder schools are likely to feel the pinch since those from feeder schools are accustomed to paying independent school fees.

For instance, of the 1,000 JC1 students Hwa Chong will accept next year, up to 30 per cent will be from non-feeder secondary schools.

Tay Zhi Yun, 16, a Secondary 4 student in St Nicholas Girls' who is considering Hwa Chong, said the increase in school fees makes no difference to her choice.

'Everyone knows they are a good school and have a good reputation for being strong in academics. The increase in school fees won't affect my decision.'

From my understanding of the school hike and the financial aid in place, students from non-feeder schools who can make it to either Raffles or Hwa Chong will not really feel the pinch from the increased school fees. To get into these schools, students will have to be in the top X% of the cohort. And I gather these students will therefore qualify for some Edusave scholarship, which fully covers school fees (but not other school charges like 'miscellaneous fees'). Also, as I understand it, this financial aid package is not means-tested, so everyone who qualifies academically into Raffles would receive it.

I wasn't from a feeder school, and thanks to pervasive financial aid, my family didn't need to pay through the nose for me to be in Raffles.

Instead of individual households paying for the hike in school fees, the taxpayer actually does (of course there are still equity concerns here).

Therefore, capable but financially poor students probably need not fret about not having the financial resources. Schools, though, have to worry about information poverty: to be equitable with respect to socio-economic class, information about financial aid should be well disseminated, such that no capable student would be denied a place from Raffles or Hwa Chong, simply because he didn't know he could go.