Special Educational Needs Examination Access Arrangement Timelines and Study of Information-Sharing Streamlining

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Dr Charlene Chen, Tampines GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) what are the typical timelines and documentation requirements for students with special educational needs to obtain examination access arrangements; and (b) whether the Ministry has studied how to streamline information-sharing, with appropriate consent safeguards, so parents need not repeatedly submit similar assessments across schooling stages.

Response

1. The Ministry of Education (MOE) and Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) are committed to ensuring that students with special educational needs (SEN) receive appropriate access arrangements (AA) that enable them to demonstrate their abilities in national examinations.
2. Applications for AA can be submitted one year before, and no later than two months before the examination date. Schools work with parents to submit documentation to SEAB, such as diagnostic reports and observation reports of students' learning needs and specific challenges requiring accommodations.
3. Since January 2025, SEAB had briefed schools that students with previously approved AA for the same medical condition are no longer required to resubmit medical diagnostic reports for subsequent national examinations. Only complex requests requiring specialised support, such as readers and scribes, continue to require an updated medical report to ensure appropriate provisions.