I WAS elated to learn of the Government's move to provide a 40 per cent fee subsidy for those who study for their first part-time undergraduate degree. This shows the Government's support for the thousands of people in the same situation as me - late bloomers who are not well off but are keen to improve ourselves.

People like us cannot afford an overseas education and have joined the workforce. We work to pay our tuition fees. We want a university degree but can only study part time at a private education centre because it is the most practical option. My total course fee is not cheap. It amounts to about $24,000. As I am still paying off the loan for my polytechnic education, news of the subsidy brought sweet relief to me initially.

However, I was disappointed when I found out from my university, the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), I did not qualify for the subsidy because SIM jointly administers the degree I am studying for with a foreign university. SIM collaborates with reputable foreign universities. The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), whose part-time students qualify for the subsidy, offer only limited courses. Singapore Management University does not offer any. Part-time students like me enrol with SIM because it offers a wider variety of part-time undergraduate programmes.

Some SIM programmes undertaken jointly with foreign universities are also more intensive and can be completed faster than those offered by NUS or NTU, which helps working adults like me.

I appeal to the authorities to reconsider the eligibility criteria.

Chen Shiqi (Ms)

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Feb 27, 2008