Student Loan Default Statistics*
| Academic Year | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Tertiary Student Finance Scheme – Publicly-funded Programmes (TSFS) | |||
| (a) No. of default cases# | |||
| (i) No. of default cases in which the Student Finance Office (SFO) of the Agency would initiate recovery action against the defaulters and the indemnifiers concerned | 58 | 36 | 13 |
| (ii) No. of default cases in which legal recovery action had been initiated^ | 473 | 455 | 443 |
| Sub-total | 531 | 491 | 456 |
| (b) Amount in default ($ million) | 12.55 | 11.87 | 10.85 |
| 2. Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students (FASP) | |||
| (a) No. of default cases# | |||
| (i) No. of default cases in which the SFO would initiate recovery action against the defaulters and the indemnifiers concerned | 107 | 81 | 30 |
| (ii) No. of default cases in which legal recovery action had been initiated^ | 514 | 503 | 504 |
| Sub-total | 621 | 584 | 534 |
| (b) Amount in default ($ million) | 9.46 | 9.09 | 8.72 |
| 3. Non-means-tested Loan Scheme for Full-time Tertiary Students (NLSFT) | |||
| (a) No. of default cases# | |||
| (i) No. of default cases in which the SFO would initiate recovery action against the defaulters and the indemnifiers concerned | 70 | 45 | 27 |
| (ii) No. of default cases in which legal recovery action had been initiated^ | 332 | 324 | 307 |
| Sub-total | 402 | 369 | 334 |
| (b) Amount in default ($ million) | 8.40 | 7.71 | 7.10 |
| 4. Non-means-tested Loan Scheme for Post-secondary Students (NLSPS) | |||
| (a) No. of default cases# | |||
| (i) No. of default cases in which the SFO would initiate recovery action against the defaulters and the indemnifiers concerned | 194 | 136 | 51 |
| (ii) No. of default cases in which legal recovery action had been initiated^ | 927 | 901 | 885 |
| Sub-total | 1 121 | 1 037 | 936 |
| (b) Amount in default ($ million) | 28.51 | 27.01 | 25.64 |
| 5. Extended Non-means-tested Loan Scheme (ENLS) | |||
| (a) No. of default cases# | |||
| (i) No. of default cases in which the SFO would initiate recovery action against the defaulters and the indemnifiers concerned | 217 | 152 | 69 |
| (ii) No. of default cases in which legal recovery action had been initiated^ | 2 864 | 2 694 | 2 591 |
| Sub-total | 3 081 | 2 846 | 2 660 |
| (b) Amount in default ($ million) | 47.43 | 44.25 | 42.41 |
| Total | |||
| (a) No. of default cases# | |||
| (i) No. of default cases in which the SFO would initiate recovery action against the defaulters and the indemnifiers concerned | 646 | 450 | 190 |
| (ii) No. of default cases in which legal recovery action had been initiated^ | 5 110 | 4 877 | 4 730 |
| Sub-total | 5 756 | 5 327 | 4 920 |
| (b) Amount in default ($ million) | 106.35 | 99.93 | 94.72 |
Cases with two or more consecutive overdue quarterly instalments / six or more consecutive overdue monthly instalments are regarded as default cases. However, the SFO has the right to demand immediate full repayment of the entire outstanding balance through reminders and/or legal means once the instalment due date is missed without waiting for six months of failed repayment.
The number of default cases in the 2022/23 to 2024/25 academic years reflect the positions as at 31 July 2023, 31 July 2024 and 31 May 2025 respectively, including cases where loan borrowers started repayment in the previous academic years and the academic year concerned but are still in default as at those dates.
The figures include those cases referred to the Department of Justice and filed directly to the Small Claims Tribunal, loan borrowers had been declared bankrupt / applied for Individual Voluntary Arrangement or deferment / write-off applications were being processed by the SFO.