Managing NS and your studies

Deferment for full-time pre-university studies at local schools

You may be granted deferment for full-time studies at local schools for:

• GCE ‘O’ Level, ’N’ Level and ‘A’ Level
• Polytechnic diploma
• International Baccalaureate (IB)
• NITEC or Higher NITEC
• An equivalent pre-university qualification

You must not have already attained such qualifications.

Deferment for studies at privately-funded or overseas schools

You may be granted deferment for pre-university qualifications at privately-funded or overseas schools (such as IB Diploma). However, there is a cut-off age for such deferment.

On 1 January of the year that you start the pre-university course, you should be younger than:

• 19 years old if you’re currently a Secondary 4 student, or
• 20 years old if you’re currently a Secondary 5, NITEC, or Higher NITEC student.

Applying for deferment

You can apply for deferment:

• when registering for NS (from 16.5 years old)
• via the “Apply for deferment” eService on the OneNS web portal, if you have already registered for NS

You may be asked to provide additional information, such as:

• Official letter from the school (with school logo or stamp) certifying your enrolment
• Course of study
• Course commencement and completion dates

If you are repeating your studies

You can apply for further deferment if you failed your pre-university studies and would like to repeat your studies on a full-time basis. 

Any such deferment will be granted on a case-by-case basis. You can contact the NS Call Centre at 1800 3676767 or contact@ns.sg with the details of your situation for more information on your deferment eligibility.

Cancelling deferment

If you are no longer studying and need to cancel your deferment to start the pre-enlistment process, contact the NS Call Centre at 1800 3676767 or contact@ns.sg.

If you intend to pursue a university qualification, you can only do so after you have completed your full-time National Service (NS). You will not be granted deferment for any university course, even if you have already started the course.

University applications

You will be able to apply for university admission even before enlisting in NS.

• If you are applying to a local autonomous university (such as the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore University of Technology and Design, or Singapore Institute of Technology), you can apply before or during NS. If you are accepted, the university may reserve a place for you until you have completed NS.
• If you are applying to an overseas university, you will have to check with the university if they are able to reserve a place for you until you have completed NS. If not, you will have to submit your university application at a later date, such as while you are serving NS.
• You should check your Operationally Ready Date (ORD) or eligibility for disruption from NS, where necessary, before confirming your matriculation date with the university.

Time will be set aside in NSFs’ training schedule to enable them to attend local university admission and scholarship interviews and tests. Local universities, ministries and scholarship boards schedule their interviews and tests during this allocated time period or on weekends throughout the year. If you need to attend interviews or tests outside of these periods, you can request time-off or apply for leave to do so, based on your training schedule.

Disruption for university studies

You may apply for disruption from NS to start university if you enlisted for NS later than your peers in the same academic cohort. This means you can stop serving NS temporarily to start studying at the same time as your peers.

You can complete your remaining full-time NS liability:

• during your school holidays, or
• after graduating from university.

However, you must complete the remaining duration of your NS in 1 continuous period. 

Applying for disruption

You can apply for disruption via the “Manage Disruption” eService on the OneNS web portal if he is enlisted into the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). If your son or ward is enlisted into the Home Team, he can submit his application for disruption to the Human Resource Services Centre of the Ministry of Home Affairs via MHA_HRSC-NSSB@mha.gov.sg. He should do this at least 3 months before the date of disruption.

If you have been accepted into medical school with National University of Singapore or Nanyang Technological University, or have been awarded a Public Service Commission (PSC) scholarship, you may also be eligible for disruption. No application is needed as shortlisted NSFs will be informed by their units.

Visit the Central Manpower Base (CMPB) website for more information on disruption for further studies.