SINGAPORE, June 1 — A student-led survey looking into accommodation charges at the Singapore University of Technology and Design has been circulating on Instagram over the past week, after the university announced earlier in the year that it would be raising its hostel fees by up to 36 per cent.
SUTD announced on February 14 that it would be increasing its hostel fees. It held a dialogue with its students that month to address their concerns.The change, which will take effect from September 15, will see hostel fees go up by between 9.2 per cent and 36.3 per cent. However, the group questioned if it was “reasonable” for the university to impose such a “sharp” rise in fees “all at once”.
“Personally, my main takeaway was that the university’s administration wanted the hostel to cut its losses as soon as possible.”’s queries, Ms Tammy Tan, chief communications officer at SUTD, said that this is the first time in the university’s 15-year history that it is raising its hostel fees.
“So far, a very small number of hostelites, representing about 3 per cent of the total number of undergrads in the dormitory, have contacted us,” Ms Tan disclosed.criticised it, saying that not all freshmores use their rooms and there have been some who have left the rooms empty, meaning they do not stay on campus as required.