Committee flags university enrollment dropouts

The Legislative Assembly’s Second Standing Committee yesterday raised concerns over enrollment withdrawals at the three public universities, after government data showed that hundreds of students gave up their places despite having paid tuition fees.

According to supplementary information provided by the government, a total of 665 students withdrew from bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in the 2024–2025 academic year after completing fee payments.

The University of Macau recorded the highest number of withdrawals, with 435 students, followed by the Macau Polytechnic University with 132 and the Macao University of Tourism with 98.

Committee chair Ip Sio Kai cited the government as explaining that the situation largely reflects a normal practice of students applying to multiple institutions before making a final choice.

Separately, the committee expressed satisfaction with the repayment performance of the Education Fund’s Student Loan Interest Subsidy Scheme. 

Actual loan repayments in 2024 reached MOP270 million, exceeding the original budget estimate of MOP130 million. The improvement was attributed to new facilitation measures, including SMS repayment reminders and additional payment channels such as the Macao One Account.

The outstanding loan balance currently stands at about MOP980 million, with overdue repayments amounting to around MOP170 million.

The committee said overall implementation of the scheme was satisfactory.