SINGAPORE, Nov 18 — Three days after more than doubling the course fees for a master’s degree programme, an institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS) yesterday made a U-turn after an outcry from students.

The original fees for the Master of Technology in Enterprise Business Analytics (MTech Ebac) course were confirmed as recently as August at information sessions for prospective students.

The programme, run by the NUS Institute of Systems Science (ISS), is to start in January next year.

On November 4, when students received their acceptance letters, they saw a line that read: "Please note that the fees and subsidies for the MTech Ebac programme are currently under review.”

They were given only until Nov 10 to accept the offer.Two days after they accepted the offer, the students were shocked to discover that the fees had more than doubled.

They were not notified by NUS about the increase and noticed the change only if they went to its website.

The fees increased from between S$20,000 and S$21,400 (RM61,041.83 and RM65,307.45) including Goods and Services Tax (GST) for Singaporean and permanent residents — which include a 70 per cent subsidy on the tuition fee — to between S$44,100 and S$49,770 excluding GST.

However, just days later, NUS reversed the decision after the students wrote to the Ministry of Education and took to social media to air their grievances.

This included posts on other online forums such as on Hardware Zone and LinkedIn groups.

The institute sent out a revised offer letter to students on Monday afternoon that was seen by TODAY.

It stated that it wanted to "sincerely apologise for the late update, and seek your patience and understanding”.

"We are pleased to inform you that NUS-ISS will be offering the previously published fees for your intake, which included subsidies of individual courses for qualified Singaporeans and Singapore permanent residents,” it stated.On Monday, students also received a separate email from the institute’s chief executive officer Khoong Chan Meng, who said that the institute noted the concerns that the students raised on the MTech programme fees.

"On behalf of my team, I apologise for the negative experience in your application process, which we could have managed better,” he wrote.

TODAY approached NUS last Friday and again on Monday seeking comment on why the subsidies had been withdrawn and reinstated, and whether this was the first time the subsidies had changed.

A 29-year-old report engineer in the information technology and finance field, enrolled part-time in the course, told TODAY he is now "relieved” after the initial anger and disappointment he felt when he was blindsided by the increased fees.

Like all students enrolled in the course interviewed by TODAY, he declined to give his name as he was concerned that the publicity might adversely affect his academic prospects.

"We have financial commitments and the sudden news that we need to fork out another close to S$30,000 for a programme... would put a heavy toll on our financial situation.

"I do not think it is fair and its fees should be what was promised when we went through the application process. It was on the site. I also called in August (before applying) to enquire about the fees.”

Like other students, he considered the possibility of withdrawing from the course because it had become so expensive.

Others were disappointed that they had run out of options to pursue their master’s in the coming year, since the application periods for other equivalent courses are now over.

One 29-year-old data analyst, also enrolled in the course part-time, said that he is "relieved and assured that we are getting the support that we need, and are being heard.”

"Although it could have been handled better, I guess it helped students bond before the course even started,” he said.

He also questioned the initial move to remove subsidies, given an apparent shortage of Singaporeans qualified in this field.

He added that a new work pass was unveiled last week by the Economic Development Board for top-tier foreign professionals and experts looking to start businesses, lead corporate teams or teach here, in a bid to woo these people to Singapore and develop its high-potential tech ecosystem.

This Tech.Pass is set to put Singapore ahead in the global race to attract highly skilled technology professionals in fields such as e-commerce, artificial intelligence and cyber security.

"If we are lacking in local talent in the tech space, why is the Government removing the subsidies from such courses in times of need for local talent (and) at a time of digitalisation and a tech boom? This is the time when the Government should be helping locals to be groomed.

"But now I am definitely excited. The current era is all about data. From banking to healthcare to media to tech, everything is about data and how to gather and make use of it to make better decisions. So I am looking forward to learning and applying this knowledge,” he said.

Another 30-year-old analyst told TODAY that when he learnt of the fee hike, he had been looking at withdrawing from the course since he is planning to buy a house and get married next year. However, with the reversion of the fees, he will proceed as a part-time student.

"Spending this amount would drastically affect my life. The school is basically asking us to come up with two times more school fees with zero notice period, or withdraw,” he said.

"I am glad that the school is honouring the advertised fees. Plus, the industry is clearly lacking in local tech talent, so it is good to know that the school and the Ministry of Education is continuing to support us in this field, especially in the current times of Covid-19,” he said.  —  TODAY