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CPF Education Loan Scheme (CELS)

The CPF Education Loan Scheme (CELS) is administered by the Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB).

The CELS is for the payment of tuition fees for full-time Singapore Citizen and Singapore Permanent Resident Undergraduate students. You can use your own, your spouse’s or your parents’ CPF savings to pay for the tuition fees. It cannot be used to pay for the compulsory miscellaneous fees and hostel fees.

Please apply for GIRO so that any remainder fees not covered by CPF and other financial aid will be deducted automatically on the scheduled GIRO deduction dates.

  • Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents taking full-time subsidised undergraduate programmes, regardless of family income
  • Returning National Servicemen registering as undergraduate students in July/August and reading Internal Blended Learning Online Courses (iBLOCs)/Special Term Courses (only tuition fee portion is applicable)

Who are not eligible:

  • Graduate students
  • Part-time Undergraduate students
  • Undergraduate students enrolled in the Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT)
  • Full -time Undergraduate Students who have exceeded their normal candidature and have fully utilized the MOE Tuition Grant
  • Full-time Undergraduate Students who are paying full fees (non-subsidized tuition fee), i.e., not taking up the MOE Tuition Grant or were given an admission offer without the MOE Tuition Grant
  • Full-time Undergraduate Students receiving scholarships/bursaries/subsidies/awards which fully cover tuition fees
  • Full-time Undergraduate Students enrolled in the Concurrent Degree Programmes, once they are charged graduate tuition fees.
  • Full-time Undergraduate Students enrolled in the Joint-Degree Programmes (JDP)

Details of the CELS, eligibility criteria, application procedures & deadlines etc. can be found at:

All applications under the CPF Education Loan Scheme should be submitted online within the application period. No late applications will be entertained. You may refer to the Application Schedule to Use CPF Savings under the CPF Education Loan Scheme for the application period.

No, your approved CELS application is a standing instruction to allow your Tuition Fee to be deducted from the authorised CPF account when due. This instruction will remain valid until you submit a written request to CPF Board to terminate it.

(a) If you have applied for the CELS within the stipulated deadline, please pay the net amount (outstanding amount in student bill less CELS payment). The CELS will be reflected in your student account 2 weeks before the first GIRO deduction. Please log in to your EduRec student account to check that the deduction is successful and there is no outstanding balance after the deduction. If the deduction is unsuccessful, please make payment for the outstanding balance as soon as possible. Please see here for exact fee payment due dates. Please see (b) below for the net amount payable.

(b) As stipulated by CPFB and subject to CPF withdrawal limits, CELS can only be used to pay the Tuition Fee of full-time undergraduates taking MOE-subsidised courses. Hence, other fees including the Miscellaneous Student Fees (MSF) and Hostel Fees have to be paid separately by GIRO or other payment modes.

If your CELS application is successful, CPF Board will inform the member (in this case, your father) of the outcome and proceed to pay your Tuition Fee to NUS. In the event that no payment is effected, please contact CPF Board directly at 1800 227 1188 to check on your application status. Any outstanding fees in your Student Account after the fee payment due date will incur late fee charge. You may log a case via our FAQ Portal with valid reasons to appeal for waiver of the late fee charge.

When applying for CELS, students have to ensure that there are sufficient funds in the designated CPF account. If CPF funds are insufficient, students will still have to pay their outstanding Tuition Fee with other sources of funds.

Students who need further financial assistance can check the Office of Financial Aid’s website at http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/financial-aid. Alternatively, students may contact CPFB at 1800 227 1188 to understand the procedures to apply for use of another CPF member’ fund under the CELS.

Repayment starts 1 year after graduation or upon leaving the course, whichever is earlier. You may make partial, lump sum or monthly instalments to CPFB for the full amount of CPF funds utilised plus the interest from the time the funds are withdrawn. The interest, which is based on the prevailing CPF interest rate, will be credited into the CPF account of the member whose savings had been used.

Students who have left NUS and have credit balance in their own Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) may also opt to use the PSEA funds for payment of their outstanding CELS loan. For more details, please refer to PSEA website at https://www.moe.gov.sg/financial-matters/psea/funds-balance-and-usage/loans-and-approved-financing-scheme.

To terminate your approved CELS, please contact CPF Board directly.

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