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[Global Times special correspondent in Singapore Chen Xin] The Singapore AEIS (Admission Examination for International Students) for the new school year has recently opened for registration, allowing parents of international students in primary school grades 2-5 and junior high school grades 1-3 to apply. However, AEIS was unable to submit applications at the beginning due to a system failure.

Although the Singapore government has not yet given the reason for the problem with the application system, many people believe that the enthusiasm for studying abroad is the "culprit" of the problem. After the epidemic, Singapore's attractiveness to international students has skyrocketed. Singapore's government schools are managed by the Ministry of Education and are divided into primary schools, secondary schools and junior colleges.

In response to a question from a member of Parliament in July last year, the Ministry of Education of Singapore stated that in the past five years, foreign students accounted for about 5% of the enrollment in local secondary schools and junior colleges. Before taking the Singapore Ordinary Level (O Level) examination, foreign students attended local primary and secondary schools for an average of 6 years.

The latest data shows that in January 2023, there were approximately 80,000 foreign students studying in Singapore, an increase of 25% compared with the same period in 2022, which is equivalent to an increase of more than 15,700 foreign students choosing to study in Singapore in just one year.

Among this increased number of foreign students, about 70% are from Asia, among which Chinese students account for the majority.

"I've registered!" said Ms. Lin, a friend of the reporter in Singapore. Her sister is Chinese. Her daughter applied for the first grade of junior high school this year. She was able to register several days after the registration system was restored. She thought that the registration channel was so crowded that she might not be able to register. She said that her sister hoped that her child would finish junior high school and high school here, and then apply to a local national university or Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. After all, Singapore can improve children's English ability. "The education here is also very competitive, but it allows students to be trained in many aspects and lay a foundation for children to move to a higher level." Ms. Lin herself has become a Singaporean citizen, and her child has also taken this path. He has been studying in Singapore since the fifth grade of elementary school. He has now graduated from Nanyang Technological University and is working in the local public sector.