Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong announced a new scholarship for undergraduate student-athletes, alongside CPF top-ups for recipients of the Sports Excellence Scholarship (SpexScholarship) programme. Addressing the High-Performance Sport Ecosystem Stakeholders engagement session at the Sports Hub, Mr. Tong highlighted that the spexEducation Undergraduate Scholarship will cover costs such as tuition fees and course materials.
The scholarship, available for applications starting next month, will feature two tracks: the "dual career" track, designed for athletes who are balancing their studies with training and competition, and the "new career" track, intended for those who pursue their education after retiring from competitive sports.
According to a factsheet from the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), the scholarship is available to active athletes either before starting their full-time undergraduate degree or while they are already pursuing their studies. Applicants must be carded spexPotential or higher and must be endorsed by their National Sports Association (NSA) at the time of application, among other criteria.
Applicants may choose to study any undergraduate course although sport-related courses are "preferred", especially for those applying for the "new career" track, said MCCY. "The scholarship will provide even greater assurance to our athletes that their tertiary education can be taken care of", said Mr Tong.
To provide "even more assurances", for those who take up the scholarship and study sport-related courses, Sport Singapore (SportSG) will facilitate job opportunities in the sports sector when they are ready to join the workforce, as previously done, said Mr Tong. Under the “dual career” track, full tuition fees will be covered for scholars who pursue degrees in local autonomous universities or overseas universities assessed to provide a good "daily training environment". This is regardless of their course of study.
For the "new career" track, the scholarship will cover full tuition fees for scholars pursuing degrees at local autonomous universities or sports science and sports management programs at overseas universities. For non-sport courses at international universities, scholars will need to cover the additional costs, minus the expense of an equivalent degree at a local autonomous university, according to MCCY.
