Students Progressing from Special Education School into ITE Programmes

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Darryl David, Ang Mo Kio GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education whether the Ministry can provide an update on the number of students who have progressed from special education (SPED) schools into ITE programmes in the last five years, both as an absolute number and as a percentage of the total number of students from the same cohort; and (b) whether there are plans for more SPED to ITE transitions in the future.

Response

1. Students who attend Special Education (SPED) schools have moderate-to-severe Special Educational Needs. Their needs are diverse as are their strengths, interests and preferences.

2. In the last five years, there were around 480 SPED graduates each year. Among them, around 90 had accessed the national curriculum. An average of around 70 each year, or around 80% of the SPED graduates from this group, completed the GCE N or O levels and progressed to PSEIs such as ITE and polytechnics.

3. Other SPED students with higher support needs access the customised SPED curriculum. For those who complete vocational certification in SPED, a small group of around 10 graduates each year also progress to ITE while the majority from this group eventually become employed directly. For those with more diverse needs, we will work with partners under the MOE-SGE School-to-Work (S2W) Transition Programme to facilitate transitions from school to the workplace for them.