I find the idea of parents downgrading their lifestyles and sacrificing so much for their children's uni education is ridiculous. My parents put me through local uni with their
CPF and i am blessed that i wasn't required to return the amount into their
CPF account.
If your kid didn't study hard enough, he can still get a chance at studying at SIM and other recognised unis. They might not look as good as the mainstream local unis or overseas pedigree unis, but they still get the job done.
If parents have insufficient
CPF to help fund their kid's uni education, the kid themselves can get a student loan at very low interest rates. Many have done it. In Singapore, no deserving student will be denied a chance at higher education just because of insufficient money.
So parents who downgrade their lifestyles just to fund their kid's uni education is crazy. Even more crazy to send their kids overseas, only do it if one really has alot of money.