President's Scholar
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A President's Scholar is a recipient/awardee of the most prestigious class of university undergraduate scholarships handed out to pre-university students with Singaporean citizenship annually, with approximately only 2-4 being handed out each year.
Such students have demonstrated excellence in both academic ability and 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 SAF Overseas Scholarship,
- the SPF Overseas Scholarship, or
- the Overseas Merit Scholarship / Local-Overseas Merit Scholarship.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Recipients
Many recipients of the President's Scholarship go on to work in top positions in the civil service and government sector, with prominent figures, such as Lee Hsien Loong, George Yeo, Teo Chee Hean and Vivian Balakrishnan in the Cabinet of Singapore.
According to statistics collected by The Straits Times, the three schools having the highest number of President Scholars as their alumni are as follow:
| School | No. of President's Scholars |
|---|---|
| Hwa Chong Institution (formerly Hwa Chong Junior College) | 47 |
| National Junior College | 45 |
| Raffles Junior College (1983-present) | 35 |
[edit] External links
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