SINGAPORE: The National University of Singapore (NUS) will be restricting access to its two University Town (UTown) food courts and internal shuttle bus service from Sep 30 to Oct 7.
Only NUS students, staff and authorised people will be allowed to board the shuttle bus from 8am to 2pm during that time frame, excluding Oct 6, read a notice that was published on the university’s website on Thursday (Sep 26).
The same restrictions will also apply to the Fine Food and Flavours food courts located in NUS’ UTown from 11am to 2pm, excluding Oct 5 and Oct 6.
Checks will be conducted, and students, staff and authorised visitors must provide NUS-approved passes or documentary proof to gain access.
The latest measures are being implemented as more tourist visitors are expected on campus from Sep 30 to Oct 7, the NUS Students’ Union said in an internal memo, which CNA has seen. It added that NUS’ Central Library will be closed to visitors during this period.
Those dates coincide with China’s upcoming Golden Week holiday period from Oct 1 to Oct 7. The seven-day national holiday marks the establishment of the People’s Republic of China and many Chinese nationals engage in leisure travelling during this period.
“We have been working closely with the management-appointed taskforce to ensure that proactive measures are in place to address any potential influx of tourist visitors,” said the student union.
“Non-compliance with any of the above-mentioned may result restrictions imposed on future visits to the university campus and could lead to further enforcement actions, if necessary.”
The union added it may look to “build a ready pool of student associates” to support security staff when needed.
Similar measures, such as stopping tour buses from going to UTown, preventing tourists from taking internal shuttle buses and training undergraduates to lead guided tours, were implemented by NUS in August.
This followed complaints from students about the influx of tourists to the university and disrupting life on campus.
Two students noted how tourists had crowded shuttle buses and canteens, and milled about libraries, research labs and even accommodation facilities.
Other students whom CNA spoke to in August said they had been inconvenienced and had also noticed bigger tour groups appearing more often on campus in the past six months.
These larger groups arrive in coaches, which usually include foreign students in uniform accompanied by teachers or chaperones.
