Reply to Media Queries on Institute of Policy Studies' Study on Public Attitudes Towards National Service

As the bedrock of our national security, strong societal support for National Service (NS) is critical for the continued survival and success of Singapore. MINDEF/SAF is encouraged by the strong support for NS from the study findings, and will take into consideration the findings, and potential areas of improvement identified through the study, as we continually review how to strengthen the NS system.

MINDEF/SAF recognises the importance of supporting our national servicemen in their transition to employment or higher education. In Sep 2022, MINDEF/SAF and MHA partnered with NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHUB) and NTUC Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) to enhance the SkillsFuture@NS initiatives. Through this, NSFs have access to the SkillsFuture@NS Learning eXperience Platform (SF@NS LXP) that grants them unlimited access to online courses, an online repository of resources and a job and course portal, and opportunities to participate in SkillsFuture@NS Fairs comprising career and education fairs during their full-time NS.

Since 2018, MINDEF/SAF has also progressively introduced Work-Learn Schemes for several vocations, in roles critical for Singapore's defence, such as in the areas of artificial intelligence and engineering. Under these schemes, NSFs can attain a diploma or partial university credits from Institutes of Higher Learning while performing full-time NS and an additional period of Regular service.

To better recognise national servicemen for their contributions and to provide support for lower-income national servicemen, NSmen who are students, not employed or working informal jobs receive a base NS pay of $1,600 per month prorated based on the duration of the NS activities. The NS allowance, which supports NSFs in their basic personal upkeep, was also increased by $125 to $200 (depending on rank and vocation) in July 2023. For example, an NSF holding the rank of Recruit/Trainee will receive a monthly NS allowance of $755, up from the current $630. Lastly, the NS HOusing, Medical and Education (HOME) awards were recently enhanced in April 2022, to give all national servicemen an additional $2,000 in cash credits for completing different milestones in their NS cycle.

NSFs whose families face financial hardship may approach their unit commanders to apply for financial assistance. The unit commanders may also approve NSF participation in a remunerative activity on an exceptional basis if it does not compromise the NSF's personal well-being and his ability to perform his NS duties. Each request is assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the specific circumstances.

MINDEF/SAF remains committed to strengthen the National Service system, and will continually enhance and enrich the NS experience of national servicemen.