Every year about 1,300 NUS students head overseas on student exchange with foreign partner universities, but this number is far short of the 2,000 places available.

There are many reasons why the number falls short of the target set by the NUS International Relations Office, IRO Assistant Director Hamidah Salleh said.

“Some students really want to go, but sometimes the courses in the universities they want to go to cannot be mapped to modules in NUS,” Salleh said. “Other times the students are unable to go on exchange because of financial difficulties.”

The National University of Singapore Students’ Union has initiated a meeting with SBS Transit as a first step to improve the welfare of students commuting on bus service 151.

However, the exact date and period of implementing the recommended measures made by SBS Transit to improve the overall quality of travel on its buses remains unclear.

Some of the recommended measures, including increasing the number and frequency of air-conditioned service 151 buses, were made in response to complaints posted by students on the “SBS 151” forum.

Security at NUS has been stepped up since Mas Selamat’s escape from Whitley Detention Centre on Feb. 27, even though there is no information to suggest he is within the campus vicinity.

Posters of the escaped detainee have been put up and the frequency of security patrols around campus has also been increased.