Nanyang Technological Institute Bill

Bill No. 17/1981

Read the first time on 15th June 1981.

An Act to provide for the establishment and incorporation of the Nanyang Technological Institute and for matters connected therewith.

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows: —

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Nanyang Technological Institute Act, 1981, and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“Council” means the Council of the Institute;

“Institute” means the Nanyang Technological Institute established and incorporated by this Act.

Establishment of the Nanyang Technological Institute

3. There is hereby established an Institute to be known as the Nanyang Technological Institute which shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and shall, by that name, be capable of —

(a)	suing and being sued;
(b)	acquiring, owning, holding and developing or disposing of property, both movable and immovable; and
(c)	doing and suffering all such other acts or things as bodies corporate may lawfully do and suffer.

Common seal

4.—(1) The common seal of the Institute shall be kept in such custody as the Council directs.

(2) All deeds, documents and other instruments requiring the seal of the Institute shall be sealed with the common seal of the Institute, and such instruments to which the common seal is affixed shall be signed by the President of the Institute or its Vice-President and by a member of the Council.

(3) All courts, judges and persons acting judicially shall take judicial notice of the common seal of the Institute affixed to any document and shall presume that it was duly affixed.

Functions and powers of the Institute

5.—(1) The functions of the Institute shall include —

(a)	the provision in Singapore of facilities for higher instruction, training and research in various branches of engineering and technology;
(b)	the advancement and dissemination of knowledge and the promotion of research and scholarship in engineering and technology;
(c)	the provision of instruction and carrying out of research in such other disciplines or subjects as the Council may from time to time determine; and
(d)	the awarding of diplomas and certificates and other distinctions.

(2) The Institute may, for the purpose of discharging its functions —

(a)	provide such facilities for its students as it considers desirable;
(b)	enter into and carry out such arrangements as the Council may think fit with the National University of Singapore for the co-ordination of the work of the Institute with the work of the National University of Singapore;
(c)	co-operate with the National University of Singapore for the conduct of courses and examinations and for such other purposes as the Institute may from time to time determine;
(d)	institute professorships, lectureships, and other posts and offices and make appointments thereto;
(e)	regulate conditions of service of officers and employees of the Institute, including schemes of service, salary scales, leave and discipline;
(f)	fix, demand and receive fees and other charges;
(g)	promote the formation of or acquire any interest in any undertaking; and
(h)	do all such things as may be necessary, incidental or conducive to the attainment of all or any of its functions and powers.

Constitution of the Institute

6.—(1) The Institute shall be governed by the provisions of the Constitution of the Institute set out in the Schedule to this Act.

(2) The Minister may, on the advice of the Council, amend the Constitution of the Institute by order published in the Gazette.

(3) Statutes and regulations of the Institute made under the Constitution of the Institute shall not be deemed to be subsidiary legislation.

Grants-in-aid

7.—(1) The Minister for Finance shall pay to the Institute such moneys as may be provided by Parliament from time to time as grants-in-aid to the Institute.

(2) All moneys paid to the Institute under subsection (1) may be applied or expended by the Institute for all or any of the purposes of the Institute.

Accounts and financial statements

8.—(1) The Institute shall keep proper accounts and records of its transactions and affairs and shall do all things necessary to ensure that all payments out of its moneys are correctly made and properly authorised and that adequate control is maintained over the assets of, or in the custody of, the Institute and over the expenditure incurred by the Institute.

(2) The Institute shall, as soon as practicable after the close of each financial year, prepare and submit financial statements in respect of that year to the auditor of the Institute.

Audit of accounts

9.—(1) The accounts of the Institute shall be audited by the Auditor-General or such other auditor as may be appointed annually by the Minister in consultation with the Auditor-General.

(2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as an auditor under subsection (1) unless he is an approved company auditor under the Companies Act (Cap. 185).

(3) The auditor or any person authorised by him is entitled at all reasonable times to full and free access to all accounting and other records relating directly or indirectly to the financial transactions of the Institute.

(4) The auditor shall in his report state —

(a)	whether the financial statements show fairly the financial transactions and the state of affairs of the Institute;
(b)	whether proper accounting and other records have been kept, including records of all assets of the Institute whether purchased, donated or otherwise;
(c)	whether the receipts, expenditure and investment of moneys, and the acquisition and disposal of assets by the Institute during the financial year were in accordance with the provisions of this Act; and
(d)	such other matters arising from the audit as he considers necessary.

(5) The auditor shall, as soon as practicable after the accounts have been submitted for audit, send a report of his audit to the Institute. He shall also submit such periodical and special reports to the Minister and to the Institute as may appear to him to be necessary or as the Minister or the Institute may require.

Presentation of financial statements and auditor’s report to Parliament

10.—(1) The Institute shall, as soon as the accounts of the Institute and the financial statements have been audited in accordance with the provisions of this Act, send to the Minister a copy of the audited financial statements, signed by the President of the Institute and its Bursar, together with a copy of the auditor’s report.

(2) Where the Auditor-General is not the auditor of the Institute, a copy of the audited financial statements and any report made by the auditor shall be forwarded to the Auditor-General when they are submitted to the Institute.

(3) The Minister shall as soon as practicable cause a copy of the audited financial statements and of the auditor’s report referred to in subsection (1) to be presented to Parliament.

Annual report

11.—(1) The Institute shall, as soon as practicable after the end of each academic year, submit to the Minister an annual report of the activities of the Institute during that year.

(2) The Minister shall as soon as practicable cause a copy of every such report to be presented to Parliament.

Grant and acquisition of land for purposes of the Institute

12.—(1) The President may by order grant to the Institute any State land for the purposes of the Institute subject to such restrictions, conditions and prohibitions relating to the use, occupation or disposition of the land as may be specified in the order.

(2) Where any immovable property, not being State land, is needed for the purpose of the Institute and cannot be acquired by agreement, the Institute may request and the President may if he thinks fit direct the acquisition of the immovable property; in such a case the immovable property may be acquired in accordance with the provisions of any written law relating to the acquisition of land for a public purpose, and any declaration required to be made under any such written law that the property is so needed may be made (notwithstanding that compensation is to be paid out of the funds of the Institute) and shall have effect as if it were a declaration that the land is needed for a public purpose made in accordance with such written law.

(3) Expenses and compensation in respect of any immovable property acquired under subsection (2) shall be paid by the Institute.

(4) All State land granted or immovable property acquired under this section shall vest in the Institute and an entry to that effect shall be made in the appropriate register by the appropriate registering authority.

Application of Societies Act to student bodies

13.—(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Societies Act (Cap. 262), the provisions of that Act shall have effect in relation to the Nanyang Technological Institute Students’ Union and its constituent bodies constituted in accordance with the Constitution of the Institute.

(2) The appropriate Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, exempt the Nanyang Technological Institute Students’ Union and any of its constituent bodies from all or any of the provisions of the Societies Act subject to such conditions as may be specified in the order.

Rules

14.—(1) The Minister may make rules —

(a)	to provide for the removal of any difficulty which may arise in giving effect to the provisions of this Act; and
(b)	for the initial appointments of the President of the Institute, the Deans of Schools of the Institute and the appointments to the first Council.

(2) Any rules made under subsection (1) shall have effect notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Constitution of the Institute.

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