President's Scholar
A President's Scholar is a recipient of the most prestigious class of university undergraduate scholarships awarded to Singapore citizens by the Government of Singapore. In most years, only 2-4 President's Scholarships are awarded. In Singapore's context, these scholarships come with a legal requirement to work for the government for a certain number of years.
To receive a President's Scholarship, a student must demonstrate excellence both academically and in co-curricular activities, a strong ethos of public service, soundness of character and the potential to lead. Shortlisted candidates are interviewed by a selection committee chaired by the Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Singapore.
President's Scholarships are generally awarded concurrently with another PSC Scholarship:
- The Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship (SAFOS),
- The Singapore Police Force Overseas Scholarship (SPFOS), or
- The Overseas Merit Scholarship (OMS)
History of the scholarship
The President’s Scholarships has its roots in the Queen’s Scholarship, founded in 1885. The Queen’s Scholarships was initiated by Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, Governor of the Straits Settlements. It was awarded to the best student of the year by a special selection board. Past Queen’s scholars include E.W. Barker and Kwa Geok Choo.
The Queen’s Scholarships were abolished in 1959 and replaced by the Singapore State Scholarship when Singapore became self-governing. Past Singapore State scholars include Tony Tan and Yeo Ning Hong.
In August 1964, the Yang di-Pertuan Negara Scholarship were inaugurated to replace the State Scholarships.
In 1966, the Yang di-Pertuan Negara Scholarship was renamed the President’s Scholarship following Singapore’s independence.
Recipients
Many recipients of the President's Scholarship go on to work in top positions in the civil service the government, including prominent figures such as Lee Hsien Loong, Teo Chee Hean,George Yeo, Mah Bow Tan, Lim Hng Kiang and Vivian Balakrishnan.
According to statistics collected by The Straits Times, the three schools having the highest number of President Scholars among their alumni are as follows:[citation needed]
| School | No. of President's Scholars |
|---|---|
| Raffles Institution | 85 |
| Hwa Chong Institution | 51 |
| National Junior College | 45 |
Notable past recipients (and their subsequent positions) include:[1][2]
- Lim Siong Guan (1965) - Chairman of the Economic Development Board and Group Managing Director of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation
- Barry Desker (1966) - Dean of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Mah Bow Tan (1967) - Former Cabinet Minister
- Kishore Mahbubani (1967) - Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
- Su Guaning (1967) - President of Nanyang Technological University
- Lee Hsien Loong (1970) - Prime Minister
- Ho Ching (1972) - Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Holdings
- Teo Chee Hean (1973) - Deputy Prime Minister
- George Yeo (1973) - Former Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Chan Soo Sen (1975) - Former Member of Parliament
- Lee Hsien Yang (1976) - Former Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Telecommunications
- Lim Hng Kiang (1976) - Minister for Trade and Industry
- Vivian Balakrishnan (1980) - Minister for the Environment and Water Resources
- Ng Chee Khern (1984) - Former Chief of Air Force
- Chan Chun Sing (1988) - Former Chief of Army
- Ng Chee Peng (1989) - Chief of Navy
- Sim Ann (1994) - Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Law