4 in 5 Singaporean parents opt to send children abroad for university: survey

Do they think Singapore education is not good enough?

Independence, international work experience and confidence are three of the major factors why parents in Singapore think it would be better if their children went abroad for university. However, that does not mean that they are discounting the quality of education in their home country.

HSBC’s The Value of Education survey reveals that 82% of parents in Singapore will consider sending their children abroad for university at the same time 75% of them established confidence in local education, indicating that the quality of education here is better than in other countries.

For overseas education, half of parents (51%) globally rank the USA in their top three for countries that provide the highest quality of education. This is followed by the UK (38%), Germany (27%), Australia (25%) and Japan (25%).

Amongst the 15 countries surveyed, Australia – a hugely popular destination for Asian students – is the most expensive option with the average annual costs of USD42,000, followed by Singapore (USD39,000) and the USA (USD37,000). The annual total cost in each country (table below) is the sum of the average annual university fee and the average annual cost of living for an international undergraduate student.

Matthew Colebrook, Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, HSBC Singapore, said: “Our survey shows that parents know the value of a good education and they tend to take full responsibility for funding it. However, the reality is that the education costs are high, no matter in Singapore or overseas. The prospect of educating children can seem daunting, but with proper planning and an astute investment plan, most of the financial uncertainties can be eliminated. Having a diversified mix of investment and insurance solutions is key along with regular portfolio review to assess that investments are on target to meet the education goal. Foreign exchange (FX) will play an inevitable role in their portfolios, especially if parents choose overseas education, for saving for tuition fees and expenses, exchanging local to foreign currency and making overseas fund transfers.”