We, the undersigned parents of students at NLCS, Singapore, are writing to express our deep concern regarding the recent and substantial increase in school fees. While we acknowledge the importance of maintaining high educational standards, we find the magnitude of the fee hike to be excessive and unjustified, particularly in light of the current economic climate and the school's expanding student body.

According to the Singapore Department of Statistics, the headline inflation rate for 2024 was 2.4%, a significant decrease from 4.8% in 2023. The rental increases too have stabilised meaningfully in the last 12-15 months across Singapore. Despite this moderation in national inflation and stabilizing rental costs, the school fees has been increased by 5% while continuing to charge capital levy every year.

Upon consolidating information from other top international schools, the average percentage fee increase by other schools is lower than that of NLCS. This sharp increase imposes an undue financial burden on many families, especially as fee increases have been done every year since the school’s inception.

We also note that the percentage of upfront payment (before start of school year) has been increased by about 33% in 2023 to 70% in 2025. The current fee hike, higher upfront payment, capital levy on top of increases in previous years is particularly unreasonable and compounds the financial strain on parents. This pattern of fee increases every year and ongoing capital levy, without adequate justification, raises concerns about the school's long-term fee policies and financial management.

Moreover, we have observed that the school has steadily increased student enrolment in recent years. This expansion brings with it economies of scale, allowing the school to spread fixed costs over a larger student base and, theoretically, reducing the per-student cost. With a growing number of students contributing to the school's revenue, it is unclear why such a substantial fee hike is necessary. 

Lastly, we are concerned that there has been no clear communication with parents sharing or detailing the factors driving these increased costs. 

In light of these concerns, we request the school management to:

1. Facilitate a formal meeting between the school management and a representative parent body to openly discuss these concerns, share perspectives, and collaboratively seek solutions.
2. Provide more details of the factors necessitating the current fee increase, impact due to increasing student enrolments and corelation of fee increase with new campus development.
3. Consider alternative strategies to manage costs and explore cost-saving measures before resorting to substantial fee increases.
4. Commit to greater transparency and consultation by engaging parents in discussions regarding future fee adjustments before announcing them. 

The increase of fees over last three years, capital levy and increase in upfront fees are detailed below for reference. 

We value the education and nurturing environment that NLCS, Singapore provides, but we cannot overlook the financial strain these unchecked increases place on families. 

We request the school to put the increased fees and new payment schedule on hold until the concerns have been resolved with the parent community.

We look forward to your prompt and comprehensive response and trust that the school will engage with parents in a spirit of transparency, fairness, and mutual respect. 

Sincerely, 

NLCS Parents and Guardians

 

Fee increase overview from 2022-2026