New international schools in Singapore are adopting innovative strategies to keep school fees down.
As the demand for international schools increase in Singapore, some schools are launching programs that cater to increasingly cost-conscious expatriate families.
Launched by the EtonHouse International Education Group, Middleton International School (MIS) will begin classes at its second campus in May.
MIS will offer the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) and International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) programs, with fees ranging from $15,000 to $20,000 a year.
MIS Tampines would be keeping costs low by having larger class sizes, said the school’s academic adviser Martin Hughes. Middleton will also hire more local teachers.
“Locally there are many great teachers here and the new school will employ a greater proportion of local teachers, which then reduces the expat packages that an international school has to pay,” Hughes said.
The school also plans to keep costs down by tapping on resources such as electronics and learning materials from their existing campuses – a tactic adopted by another newly opened campus, One World International School (OWIS).
OWIS’s second campus offers fees starting from $17,000. It offers the IB Primary Years Programme and IGSCE, reported Channel NewsAsia.
These two new campuses join Invictus International School, which opened in 2016, offering fees of $15,000. The average annual fees for international schools in Singapore are typically about $30,000.
OWIS principal, Michelle Dickinson, shared a possible reason why there has been growing demand for schools with lower fees.
"Before, international families came to Singapore for maybe two to three years on an international assignment with education very much a part of their employment package,” Dickinson said.
“There's been a change over the last few years, where families are choosing to stay in Singapore as a life choice, to settle here long term. And they are looking for a school whose fees are moderate, where they can place their child in for a long period of time."
There are currently more than 30 international schools here.Related stories:
Near-full enrolment for newly opened OWIS campus
Demand for international schools in Singapore growing