Special Education Teacher Workforce Growth, Attrition Rates and Reasons, and Measures to Improve Workload Sustainability and Retention

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Dr Charlene Chen, Tampines GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education in view of the planned expansion in special education (SPED) school capacity (a) how has the SPED teacher workforce grown relative to student enrolment over the past five years; (b) what have been the annual teacher attrition rates over this period and the main reasons for attrition; and (c) what measures are being taken to improve workload sustainability and retention.

Response

1. Over the past five years (2021 to 2025), the SPED teacher workforce has grown from about 1,600 to 1,900, alongside student enrolment growth from about 7,000 to 9,000 with the addition of 5 more SPED schools. The average resignation rate over this five-year period is 10%, with the most commonly cited reasons being a desire to change job type, personal reasons, and family commitments.
2. To support SPED capacity expansion sustainably and meaningfully, MOE has been working with Social Service Agencies (SSAs) to improve remuneration, recruitment and professional development efforts, in order to grow the teacher workforce in tandem with the growth in student population.
   1. One, MOE had updated salary guidelines for SPED teachers in 2024, after launching the SPED teacher career and competency frameworks and role profiles in 2020. MOE has worked with the SPED sector to adopt the recommended salary ranges, and implement stronger performance-based remuneration.
   2. Two, to augment manpower in schools, a shared pool of relief teachers has been made available to SPED schools who can step in when SPED teachers need to be away for training or leave.
   3. Three, MOE has supported the sector with recruitment efforts by coordinating the SPED Teachers’ Career Fair for SPED schools and facilitating the sector’s participation in career fairs by universities.
   4. In terms of professional development, MOE introduced the School Staff Developer role in SPED schools in 2024 to foster a culture of continual learning and promoting well-being.
   5. Untrained and serving SPED teachers can access professional development opportunities via NIE and MOE-appointed trainers. Furthermore, MOE has partnered with various SPED schools to set up Communities of Practice (CoP) in areas such as Multiple Disabilities, Autism, and Intellectual Disability to deepen SPED teachers’ expertise in these areas.
   6. MOE has also worked with the SSAs and SPED schools to identify and nurture performing teachers with school leadership potential by sending them to attend milestone programmes such as the Management and Leadership in Schools (MLS) and the Teacher Leader Programme. The Leadership Development Programme was also rolled out in 2025 to grow the leadership bench in the SPED sector.
   7. Most recently, to help reduce teachers’ administrative burden, MOE has been onboarding SPED schools onto MOE’s Parents Gateway system, so that they can provide information more readily to parents and caregivers of their students. Half of the schools are scheduled to be onboarded by the third quarter of 2027.