A President's Scholar is a recipient of the academic scholarship awarded by the Government of Singapore annually, to pursue undergraduate education at a university, usually abroad. The scholarship is considered to be the most prestigious public undergraduate scholarship in Singapore awarded to students of Singaporean nationality.
All recipients have legal obligation to serve a bond—in the form of a public service career for a certain period of time, usually ranging from 4 to 6 years, after completing his or her studies in the university.
Shortlisted candidates are interviewed by a selection committee chaired by the Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Singapore.
The President's Scholarship by itself does not award any money or lead to any particular career in public service. As such, it is generally paired with another scholarship, which could be either of the following: The SAF Scholarship The SPF Scholarship The PSC Scholarship
History The President's Scholarship has its roots in the Queen's Scholarship, which was founded in 1885. The Queen's Scholarship was initiated by Cecil Clementi Smith, Governor of the Straits Settlements. It was awarded to the best performing student of the year by a special selection board.
The Queen's Scholarship was abolished in 1959 and replaced by the Singapore State Scholarship when Singapore gained self-governance.
In August 1964, the Yang di-Pertuan Negara Scholarship was inaugurated to replace the State Scholarship.
In 1966, after Singapore achieved independence, the Yang di-Pertuan Negara Scholarship was renamed the President's Scholarship.
Recipients Many recipients of the President's Scholarship went on to serve in top positions in the civil service.
According to statistics collected by the newspaper The Straits Times, the schools in Singapore having the highest number of President's Scholars among their alumni are as follows:
School Number of President's Scholars Raffles Institution 96 Hwa Chong Institution 65 National Junior College 45
+ Notable recipients of the President's Scholarship Name Year received Remarks Ref Politics Lim Boon Keng 1887 Member, British Legislative Council Edmund W. Barker 1946 Former Cabinet Minister (1964–1988) Tony Tan 1959 7th President of Singapore (2011–2017) Lee Yock Suan 1966 Former Cabinet Minister (1987–2004) Mah Bow Tan 1967 Former Cabinet Minister (1991–2011) Yeo Ning Hong Former Cabinet Minister Lee Hsien Loong 1970 Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean 1973 Senior Minister George Yeo 1973 Former Cabinet Minister (1991–2011) Chan Soo Sen 1975 Former Member of Parliament (1997–2011) Lim Hng Kiang 1973 Former Cabinet Minister Vivian Balakrishnan 1980 Minister for Foreign Affairs Chan Chun Sing 1988 Minister for Defence Sim Ann 1994 Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs. David Lim Former Member of Parliament Tsao Yuan Former Nominated Member of Parliament Public Sector Ahmad Mohamed Ibrahim 1936 Former Attorney-General of Singapore Lim Siong Guan 1965 Group President of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation James Koh Cher Siang 1965 Chairman, Housing and Development Board Barry Desker 1966 Dean, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Su Guaning 1967 Former President, Nanyang Technological University (2003–2011) Kishore Mahbubani 1967 Former Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Chan Seng Onn 1973 Supreme Court Judge Lee Wei Ling 1973 Senior Advisor, National Neuroscience Institute Ivan Png Paak Liang 1975 Vice-Provost, National University of Singapore (2001–2003) Ng Chee Khern 1984 Permanent Secretary (Strategy), Prime Minister's Office Ng Chee Peng 1989 Former CEO, Central Provident Fund Board Hoo Sheau Peng 1989 Supreme Court Judge Lim Cheng Yeow Perry 1991 Former Chief of Defence Force, Singapore Armed Forces Lim Tuang Liang 1991 Former Chief of Air Force, Singapore Armed Forces Lai Chung Han 1992 Permanent Secretary (Development), Ministry of Education Chong Tow Chong Provost, Singapore University of Technology and Design Tan Kai Hoe 1985 Former Chief of Staff, Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) Goh Si Hou 1997 Former Chief of Army, Singapore Armed Forces Aaron Beng 2000 Chief of Defence Force Private Sector Kwa Geok Choo Former Lawyer Mohamed Ismail bin Ibrahim 1968 First Malay President's Scholar Ho Ching 1972 Former CEO, Temasek Holdings Lee Hsien Yang 1976 Former CEO of Singapore Telecommunications Limited. Shaun Seow Former CEO, MediaCorp Alan Chan Former CEO, Singapore Press Holdings Limited Low Sin Leng Executive chairman, Sembcorp Development Gan Juay Kiat 1976 Former CEO, SBS Transit
Public Service Commission – Scholarships
References
External links Scholarship Centre of Singapore's Public Service Commission