Statistics on Children Exempted from Compulsory Education

Assoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene asked the Minister for Education (a) since 2003, what is the average number of children in each of the categories of (i) attendance at designated schools, (ii) receiving home-schooling and (iii) children with special needs granted exemption from compulsory education; (b) what is the average number of students from designated schools and home-schooled children annually who do not meet the required PSLE benchmark; and (c) what is the average percentage of unsuccessful applications for exemption from compulsory education since 2003.

Since the implementation of the Compulsory Education (CE) Act in 2003, an average of around 450 children were exempted each year because of their special education needs; an average of around 50 each year because they were home-schooled; and an average of around 300 children each year because they were enrolled in a designated school.

Students enrolled in designated schools or receiving home-schooling are required to sit the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and meet their

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respective benchmarks. This is to ensure that these designated schools and home-schooling parents have been able to provide a baseline foundation in their academic education that allows these students to access further and lifelong learning. The first CE-exempted cohort sat for their PSLE in 2008.

The PSLE benchmark for designated schools is defined for the school, rather than for each student – one designated school has to-date been affected by not meeting the benchmark set for them. Each year, one in three home-schoolers who sat for the PSLE did not meet their benchmark.

All children who enrol in a designated school, or whose parents provide documentary proof of their child's special needs, are exempted from CE. Parents who want to home-school their children are required to provide information on the curriculum of their home-schooling programme and demonstrate that they have the requisite resources and educational qualifications to adequately take on the role of educating their child full-time. The average percentage of unsuccessful home-schooling applications has been below 1%.