Government total expenditure on education in Singapore 2010-2019

In 2019, government expenditure on education was approximately 12.83 billion Singapore dollars. Singapore needs to invest in its education system, as it relies on a skilled and educated workforce to support its economy.

Investing in its most important resource

Lacking in land and natural resources, Singapore’s most important resource is its people. Improvements and investments in the education system were necessary to build up a workforce capable of transitioning from a manufacturing-based economy to a highly diversified, services-based economy. These investments led to an increase in years of schooling in the population, as well as improvements in educational attainment.

Preparing for industry 4.0

Singapore’s education system places heavy emphasis on STEM subjects. Students from Singapore tend to excel in the PISA tests in science and mathematics. However, to remain competitive in a smart technology-based economy, Singapore needs to do more to foster creativity and risk-taking. More too needs to be done to ensure that certain sectors of society still receive quality education, in order to not be left behind. As of 2019, education spending on polytechnics and ITES, considered to be less prestigious and academically rigorous options for post-secondary education, was considerably less than that for universities.