NTU, NUS & SMU Suspend Exchange Programmes in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a political time bomb waiting to explode, as I’m sure you’re aware. Protests have badly affected tourism and the economy.

More importantly, because their airport recently became a site for mass protests, some Singaporean students have been affected too.

Exchange Programmes Suspended 

The Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Management University (SMU) have suspended all student exchange programmes to Hong Kong.

This comes after a Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ advisory recommended Singaporeans to “defer non-essential travel to Hong Kong, given current developments”.

According to TODAYonline, NUS, NTU, and SMU students have all received emails notifying them about the suspension with the MFA advisory attached or mentioned in the notice.

Students Left Hanging

Due to the suspension of these exchange programmes, many affected students have been left without classes for their ongoing semester.

Their biggest concern is how they are going to continue lessons during the semester on campus. 

Modules in the ongoing semester have limited slots for the affected students since those unaffected by the suspension have already taken up most of the slots.

Speaking to TODAYonline, one NUS undergraduate said: “We are trying to appeal to take our modules this semester and this is worrying because most of the slots are taken up by students who have bid for them”.

These limited, leftover slots will be allocated through a bidding and balloting system, added the undergraduate.

Graduation Might Be Delayed

Because of this, some affected students may not be able to complete any modules for the current semester. This could delay their graduation, as they would require an additional semester to obtain the number of credits required to complete their degree.

Having to delay your graduation because you failed a module is tolerable, but having to delay your graduation because there are protests in another country must be incredibly frustrating.

Unless these affected students can diplomatically solve the Hong Kong-China issue, they might have to wait a little longer before they can don their graduation hats.