SINGAPORE: Singapore is monitoring the impact of the reported revocation of Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVP) certification on academic prospects for Singaporean students, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Tuesday (May 27).
This follows the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the university’s right to host foreign nationals as students and scholars.
The move was announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on May 22, and has since left nearly 6,800 international students in the US in limbo.
The students were given a choice – to transfer schools or face deportation.
According to the Harvard International Office, there are currently 151 Singaporean scholars and students enrolled in the American university.
On May 23, a US judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from revoking the school’s ability to enrol foreign students.
This came after Harvard filed a complaint in Boston federal court earlier in the day, calling the move a “blatant violation” of the US Constitution and other federal laws.
MFA said the Singapore Embassy in Washington DC has engaged the US State Department and Department of Homeland Security.
The ministry has also set up support structures for affected students, such as a group communication channel that is hosted by MFA’s Consular Department and the Singapore Global Network.
Affected Singaporean students at Harvard may register themselves at https://go.gov.sg/singaporeanharvardstudents to be added to the channel.
The Singapore Ambassador in Washington will be holding a virtual town hall with Singaporean students in Harvard at 5pm on May 30 (5am on May 31, Singapore/Malaysian time).
Singaporean students at Harvard should remain in contact with the International Student Services of Harvard for updates, the ministry added.
US President Donald Trump’s move to ban international students from enrolling at Harvard was the latest in his feud with the university, which he claims has “failed to address anti-Semitism and ethnic harassment on campus”.
Prior to this, almost US$3 billion (S$3.8 billion) in federal contracts and research grants to the university was also frozen.
It comes as the Republican President’s administration attempts to reshape American education. He has accused the country’s elite campuses of being gripped by anti-American, Marxist and leftist ideologies.
In 2024, US campuses were rocked by pro-Palestinian protests – and accompanying pro-Israel counter-protests – following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023. - The Straits Times/ANN
