More students, who fall short on the score to pursue a degree course from reputed academic institutions, can be considered based on their talents in various fields to include arts and sports.

The National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU) will increase places under the Discretionary Admission (DA) scheme, from 10 per cent to 15 per cent of their intake. This translates to about 1,050 places at NUS, 900 at NTU and 290 at SMU.

This means the University opens up 2,240 places for brilliant students, who for some reason did not get the expected scores but will be able to pursue desired courses based on their talent potentials. These students can take advantage of the DA scheme this year, increasing intake of more students for graduate courses.

While the total university intake figures for this year are still being finalised, but the Ministry of Education (MOE) said the number of places will increase by a few hundred, Straits Times reports.

This move is in line with the Government’s plan to increase the cohort participation rate to 40 percent by 2020. This would mean four in 10 pupils from each Primary 1 cohort will go on to pursue a full-time degree in one of Singapore’s six publicly funded universities. Last year, 15,500 places were offered and the cohort participation rate rose to 33 percent, from 32 percent in 2015.

According to an announcement by MOE last year, the tertiary institutions including polytechnics will place greater emphasis on holistic selection practices for admissions, and said there was no room to admit students under the DA scheme. With this increase, university officials said they are likely to cast a wider net to attract more brilliant students to pursue the courses, as per the scheme which was introduced in 2004.

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NUS provost Tan Eng Chye said the university is likely to shortlist and interview more than 2,000 students this year for admissions under the DA scheme, however the students would still need good grades to be chosen for the admission shortlisting process. While NUS did not provide figures, the increased diversity is evident in its competitive faculties to include law and medicine.

Also more students from polytechnics and those from a wider range of junior colleges have been accepted based on their willingness to learn, adapt, and grow and passion for the industry they choose to work for.

National University of Singapore (NUS) is offering 7,000 places for the coming academic year, but it has received four times the number of applicants. While the University has started handing out offers to those who made through cut based on their grades, about 1,800 students who were not selected are undergoing interviews to be considered for discretionary admissions this year.

With more students expected to be considered for discretionary admissions, the process at NUS may be refined this year, Channel News Asia reports.

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