From 1 July 2026, the new Higher Education Student Loan (HESL) scheme will be implemented to provide loans to students who need help to finance their tertiary studies when they pursue approved MOE-subsidised diploma and undergraduate (UG) programmes.

The HESL will replace the existing Government loan schemes - Tuition Fee Loan (TFL) and Study Loan (SL), which will now be merged under the new loan scheme. The HESL will provide loans to cover the tuition fees payable and an annual living allowance loan. Undergraduate students who need help to finance the cost of participating in overseas student programmes approved by the Academy can also apply for the HESL.

As with the existing loan schemes, the new HESL scheme is interest-free during the course of study, with interest commencing only upon a student’s graduation or leaving the Academy. The maximum loan repayment period for the HESL scheme is 10 years. See Annex A for more details of HESL scheme and the eligibility criteria.

The Academy will stop accepting new TFL and SL with effect from 20 Apr 2026. Students who wish to apply for a loan can apply for the HESL from 1 July 2026. In the interim, please explore other financial aids as published. Students can still apply for HESL to cover the prevailing semester (before HESL implementation from 1 July 2026).

Students who wish to apply for the HESL can do so via the new StudentLoanSG (SLSG) portal (address: https://go.gov.sg/slsg), which will also be launched on 1 July 2026 10am. As a start, the portal will accept HESL application from the following students who can use their Singpass account:

1. Newly matriculated students in Academic Year (AY) 2026 intake; and
2. Existing students (before AY2026 intake) who do not have TFL and SL for their current course of study.

For existing students who have already taken up TFL and/or SL will continue to receive their current loan provisions. No action is required from them. However, if they wish to apply for new or additional loan provision under the HESL scheme, they should first approach Office of Student Services (OSS) at [email protected] for advice and assessment of needs from 1 September 2026. OSS will assess if their current loans meet their financing needs and whether there are any available financing options including institution-based financial aid that can be tapped on to help the student instead of taking up additional loan provision under HESL. Students may apply for HESL in the SLSG portal from 1 September 2026, if they are found suitable by OSS.

Before considering to take up HESL, students should first consider other financing options, such as government bursary, post-secondary education account (PSEA) fund, institution-based financial aid schemes, that may be available for them to tap on to meet their financing needs.

To find out more about the available financing options and the eligibility criteria, students can approach Office of Student Services at [email protected] for more information.