This success extends to its position as an education hub, although competition is rising in the east. “I think Singapore still has a lot to offer as an education destination,” says Shabir Aslam, director of the British Council in Singapore. “There have been improvements in infrastructure, in government support for educational excellence at all levels and the two main public universities rank highly in the world university rankings.” National University of Singapore is ranked number one in Asia and Nanyang Technological University is regularly in the top five. Aslam continues: “This, alongside an educational environment that is welcoming and open to partnership and collaboration, has helped to promote Singapore as one of, if not the most, sought after educational destinations in Asia.” International intake Gauging the exact number of international students in Singapore is like trying to find a piece of chewing gum on the MRT subway network. Parliamentary replies from 2015 at least fill in some of the gaps. According to one, “The proportion of international students varies by faculty, ranging from around 1% in medicine and law, courses highly popular with Singaporeans, to 27% in science and engineering.” While common estimates put the number of international students in public universities at around 15%, the picture is clearer when examining the private education sector in Singapore. Its regulatory body, the Council for Private Education, states that approximately 77,000 local and 29,000 international students are enrolled in private tertiary colleges, with the most popular offering UK university qualifications via partner institutions. That means just over one-third of the broader private sector student intake in Singapore is international. Many hail from mainland China, followed by ethnic Chinese from Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, others from those countries and a steady intake of Indians. It seems the old colonial tie is hard to break too. There are 120 private colleges providing UK qualifications in Si