Students at Risk of being Left Behind

Madam, I wish to draw MOE's attention to three groups of children that I think could be at risk of left behind.

The first is children from lower income families. I am glad that financial assistance and other schemes such as after-school care have been put in place for these children.

US research had suggested that students' performance decline after long school holidays, especially for those from families with low income. As Mayor of Central District, I observed that many children from lower income families engage in little learning or enrichment activities during their school holidays. They tend to lack adult supervision due to the work commitments of their parents and absence of care-givers. This is unlike their peers from more affluent families who can afford additional learning experiences such as outside enrichment programmes like family vacations.

My CDC team and I had organised holiday camps for these children, trying to help them close the gap with their more affluent peers. We taught them how to write e-books, play musical instrument, new games and even make and edit movies.

However, I fear these efforts on the ground are not systemic and regular enough to make sustainable impact. I urge MOE to work with the relevant partners to ensure that students who lack adult supervision during school holidays can continue to learn, and not being left even further behind their more affluent peers.

Next, Madam, on students with special needs in both mainstream schools and IHLs.

The Allied Educator (AED) Scheme. The introduction of the AED Scheme in 2009 was a significant initiative for students with special needs in mainstream Primary and Secondary schools. The number of Allied Educators has grown from 600 in 2009 to more than 2,400 in 2014. Their role can be challenging especially for those involved in teaching and learning and behavioural management support. I would like to seek the Ministry's update of the AED Scheme, the achievements and challenges to date, and how MOE might partner further the major disability partners to support and equip these professionals.

On Disability Support Offices. In 2013, students with special educational needs in IHLs received the great news that there will be a Disability Support Office (DSO) in each publicly-funded University, Polytechnic, ITE college and Arts institutions. This is a game changer, and will give excellent support for those students as support had been inconsistent, and dependent very much on the good hearts of individual IHLs. I would like to seek an update on the status of the set-up of these DSOs.

On Special Education Needs (SEN) Fund. In the same year, MOE had also announced the setting up of a Special Education Needs (SEN) Fund to help students with physical, hearing or visual impairment. This fund currently does not include the three most common forms of learning disabilities, namely, dyslexia, ADHD and autism. I seek the Ministry's favourable consideration to include these students as candidates for the use of the SEN Fund.

Students with special needs in SPED schools. Thanks to the enthusiasm of Minister of State Sim Ann and the Minister, SPED schools have continued to receive much support. There are some gaps that I would like to bring up for attention.

First, a portal for teaching materials for core common lifeskills. After expending a lot of time and resources in developing curriculum framework, it is time for MOE to start populating the framework.

Currently, each VWO and their respective SPED schools are developing their own resources. For greater productivity, I urge MOE to allocate resources to develop a portal – a repository of core materials in core topics such as daily living skills, literacy, and numeracy. Instead of only asking the educators to populate the framework, MOE can invest in local and foreign content so that more is available quickly for both schools and families to use.

Second, SPED schools offering mainstream curriculum. Efforts have been made in this aspect, but there are still disconnects. SPED teachers for example teaching the PSLE are not granted the opportunities to be in the markers' pool for better exposure and development.

Third, on ICT. Most recently, the very useful ICT Learning Roadmap for MOE mainstream school Info Clubs were planned and budgeted, but only with mainstream schools in mind. SPED schools who wish to enrol their students were advised to engage the vendors separately.

Fourth, on inclusion in good national initiatives. All students, whether taking mainstream academics or not, should also be included in the other good national initiatives – such as the school-based Dyslexia Remediation Programme, applied learning programme and even the SkillsFuture master plan.

I thank and congratulate the MOE team for their diligent work that they have done, and I want to tell you that you have made a difference.