BUOYED BY NEW INITIATIVES

Athletes applaud spexEducation plan to make sport viable and attractive career

- David Lee and Melvyn Teoh

After completing her O-level exams as a private candidate, national badminton player Yeo Jia Min stopped school at 17 so she could pursue sport full time and benefit from a full Sport Excellence Scholarship (spexScholarship) stipend.

At the time, juggling both sport and studies qualified her for only half of the allowance.

While the decision paid off as she became a junior world No. 1 at 18, went on to win titles on the Badminton World Tour and compete in two Olympics, further education "has always been at the back of my head".

This is why Yeo is buoyed by the recent announcement by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong at a post-National Day Rally engagement session.

On Aug 21, Mr Tong revealed details of the spex Education Undergraduate Scholarship Programme, which is part of a slew of initiatives to make sport a viable and attractive career path for Singaporeans.

National athletes will be able to apply for the programme from Sept 1 with two options available - the dual-career path for athletes pursuing their studies while training and competing, and the new-career track for those who choose to study after retiring from competitive sport.

All six autonomous universities in Singapore will also support aptitude-based admissions and schedule flexibility to better accommodate training and competitions, while spexScholars will enjoy monthly top-ups to their CPF accounts from April 2025.