Special Education in Singapore

Sir, I am extremely grateful that MOE's support for students with special needs has grown from strength to strength in the last decade. My inputs here are on how to take it to the next level.

First, on mainstream schools. Today, all Primary schools and most Secondary schools are resourced with at least one Allied Educators. It is a known fact that this current support model is insufficient to effectively help those students to access the academic curriculum, not to mention the other life skills that they require in life.

The small number and the bandwidth of Allied Educators in each school means they can do very little to educate these students. In schools where there are students with different types of learning disabilities, the stress on these professionals is even worse.

So, we need more innovative and scalable models in this space.

Next, in the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs) such as the ITEs, Polytechnics and Universities, thanks to MOE, most IHLs have now set up one-stop education support services for students and undergraduates with special needs. However, the type and quality of support are largely inconsistent. Handshakes between tertiary level students and the employers are either non-existent or quite weak, making internships and eventual employment dicey and at risk of failing.

There is a strong need to develop a more robust framework of minimum core set of services, standards and training. We need to strengthen the handshakes between IHL students and their employers, likely in the form of a Train-Place-Train model.

For Special Ed Schools or SPED schools, the SPED schools of today are in a far better state thanks to MOE. However, gaps remain.

One, beyond the curriculum framework drawn up by MOE's SPED department, there is a need to populate the framework with common resources. Subjects such as daily living skills, a domain of learning required for all students, are left to the individual VWOs to develop.

Two, inclusion opportunities for many special schools remain low. Many SPED students interact with their peers from mainstream schools only during CIP and CSR initiatives, and not on a daily basis.

Three, talent identification, talent invitation and development in SPED schools remain challenging for the schools. There is not even a degree in special education offered by the Government-funded IHLs of Singapore. The SPED sector continues to compete unsuccessfully for health professionals such as Occupational Therapists and Speech Therapists.

But, Sir, my biggest concern lies in the dearth of learning opportunities for adults with special needs in our country. The continued education and training for persons with special needs is an area of high priority. Without continued training both in life and job skills, more and more will remain at home or will require external day-care help − all of which are costly options to the families and to the state.

Singapore's local workforce is forecasted to experience zero growth if our population trends remain. The special-needs workforce can be an important strategic asset, to take on either blue-collared or white-collared jobs. Today, the number of courses customised for the special needs workforce is miserable. There must be innovative ways by which the thousands of courses in the mainstream can be systematically customised to train others who learn differently.

On the SPED Academy, I believe that the best strategy is to establish a Special Ed or SPED Academy that will cut across all Ministries and led by members with strong passion and relevant networks. A SPED Academy should look into specific learning needs, solutions and across the entire lifespan of persons with special needs in our country:

Underpinned by the important principles of digitalisation, innovation, scalability and partnership set out by the Committee for Future Economy; and

Analysing how the future economy and Industry Transformation Maps can include persons who learn and contribute differently.

A bus academy, a rail academy had already been set up; hence I hope my call for a SPED Academy will not be ignored.

If done well, I am confident the SPED Academy will be the first of its kind worldwide and can play an important role in the future education landscape and economy of Singapore.