Offers based on academic merit and open competition among all applicants

Jun 29, 2007

Three Singapore universities have offered places to 24 students affected by the closure of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Asia, which shut its door yesterday.

They are the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Singapore Management University (SMU), said a press statement from the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the three universities today.

Some of the students have even been offered places by more than one university.

Following the announcement to close UNSW Asia's campus in Singapore, the three local universities extended their deadline for applications for students who have enrolled in or accepted offers from UNSW Asia.

The statement also said that all applications by the affected students were considered on a case-by-case basis, and decisions were made based on academic merit and open competition among all applicants to the universities in 2007.

As of yesterday, 17 have accepted the offers made by the three universities.

The Australian university, which began classes here in March, announced on May 23 that it was closing its Singapore campus due to lower-than-expected enrolment, sending shock waves here and abroad.

With the closure, UNSW Asia will become a footnote in history, but some problems will continue to linger for the university - among them, the matter of the grant that Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) gave to UNSW.

The Sydney Morning Herald, quoting an unnamed source, said that UNSW had to pay back the grant as it had clearly not met its side of the deal.

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