By Sandra Davie

INDIAN student Rima Joseph, 20, had her heart set on studying in Britain.

But when her parents' travel agency business in Mumbai got hit by the downturn, they sent her to Singapore instead to study at a private school here for a British degree at a third of the price.

Her father, Mr Anthony Joseph, 44, who was here recently to scout for a private school, said: 'I will not sacrifice my daughter's education and Singapore is a good alternative. She will still come back with a British university degree. She will be safe and I will get to visit her more often.'

It is reasoning like this that has kept Singapore's education hub ambitions on track, despite the cooling international student market worldwide.

Although the economy is down, foreign student arrivals here are up.

The number of foreign students here reached 96,900 in December last year, according to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, which issues visas for foreigners wanting to study here. It inched up from 86,000 in 2007.

Private school operators here, who have confirmed first quarter intake numbers, say the total figure is likely to hit the 100,000 mark by the end of this month.

Despite the recession, all signs show that Singapore is well on track to meet its target of hosting 150,000 foreign students here by 2015.

According to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) which promotes Singapore as a study destination abroad, the current economic climate and wave of belt-tightening has given Singapore an edge.

Singapore has carved out a niche for offering affordable quality education. As such, many students hit by the slowdown are switching their study destinations from traditional seats of higher education such as Britain and the United States to Singapore.

STB's director of education services John Conceicao said: 'Here, students have the advantage of being able to study at some of the world's leading institutions, at a fraction of what it would cost in Britain and the United States, due to lower fees and the comparatively low cost of living.'

The Singapore Institute of Management's (SIM) Global Education arm, for example, charges $23,000 fees for its three-year University of London degree courses, which are taught by local as well as British professors. In Britain, fees alone would cost over $80,000 over three years, not to mention another estimated $60,000 in living costs.

Overall, education is also proving to be a recession-proof business. Student recruitment agents note that Asian parents are continuing to spend on education, despite the recession, even if they have to make other sacrifices.

Said Mr A. Vadivelu, who recruits students in India for private schools here: 'Education is the passport to a better future so parents will sell their cars, their second homes and family land to send their children overseas.'

Downtime also appears to be boomtime for Insead and other business schools here, which are reporting record intakes.

Professor Jake Cohen, dean of MBA programmes for Insead, said the January intake for the Singapore campus was the biggest ever at 162. And applications for the September intake are up by 15 per cent. Some applicants had recently lost their finance industry jobs.

He said: 'Many see the recession as an opportune time to brush up their credentials and prepare for a more competitive job market when the next boom comes around.'

Industry watchers say it helps to have brand-name institutions here, such as top business schools Insead and Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business, as well as newcomers like Digipen Institute of Technology, dubbed the Harvard for video game developers and animators.

They also point to the fact that the established private schools have brought in quality programmes and upgraded their facilities, providing residential halls and even conducting research in their offshore campuses here.

SIM Global Education, which runs programmes from partner universities such as the University of London and Sydney University, now offers residential and recreational facilities, comparable to those at Singapore's three public universities.

Its hostel in Ulu Pandan, which opened in the middle of last year, can accommodate 428 students and offers facilities such as a dance studio, a gym and tennis courts.

Meanwhile, James Cook University Singapore (JCUS) has grown its enrolment here from 50 students in 2003 to over 1,500 students now. It has not only moved to a sprawling campus in Upper Thomson Road but also conducts research here which is relevant to Singapore and the region.

Dr Dale Anderson, chief executive officer of JCUS, said: 'Research is expensive but our commitment is to make JCUS a research and teaching university, just as our main campus in Queensland.'

For the upcoming March intake, Dr Anderson added that he expected 180 students, but more than 200 have signed up.

Newly-arrived international students like Ms Ariel Nathan, 18, from Sri Lanka, explained the attraction to Singapore: 'For me it is the price and location. I can study for an Australian degree under $60,000 and I think Singapore is very modern and safe. My parents, of course, like the fact that it is in Asia so that I won't lose my culture.'

To Canadian Ken Mercier, 28, who plans to enrol in a top business school here, Singapore is 'Asia 101', a soft landing for him to learn about this part of the world.

'I was a bit worried since I have never been to Asia, but I am bowled over by how modern and convenient everything is here.'

Despite all these positive indicators, private school operators said they are not resting on their laurels and will continue to aggressively upgrade and market themselves.

Dr Anderson added that he is watching the market closely.

In Australia, one of the top three study destinations for international students, some educators are expecting the A$13 billion (S$13 billion) a year overseas student industry to soften, although several universities reported an increase in applications from overseas.

There are worries that any contraction of the education sector, Australia's third-biggest export industry, will cost many jobs within the sector and hurt the housing market.

Said Mr Lee Kwok Cheong, chief executive of SIM, which saw full-time foreign student numbers grow from 2,500 last year to 3,000 this year: 'While I am happy that our numbers are still growing, I am also mindful of the fact that the extent of the downturn which is happening around the world is unprecedented.

'We have to step up our marketing, explore new markets and keep on improving our programmes to make them more attractive.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times on February 09, 2009.