Reviewing $5,000 SEN Fund Cap in Light of Rising Private Specialised Support Costs

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry will review the $5,000 Special Educational Needs (SEN) Fund cap for students with learning and behavioural disabilities in light of rising costs for private specialised support; and (b) how many such students currently benefit from both the SEN Fund and the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme with newly expanded income criteria.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) regularly reviews the provisions of the MOE Special Educational Needs (SEN) Fund to ensure that it can meet student support needs. The $5,000 cap for students with learning and behavioural disabilities has been sufficient based on utilisation patterns thus far.

The revised income criteria for Government bursaries were announced in October 2025 and take effect from academic year 2026, which commenced in January 2026 for the Institute of Technical Education and will commence in April 2026 for polytechnics. As students may apply for the SEN Fund and Government bursaries at different points throughout the academic year and the new academic year has not yet started for most institutions, there is no data yet on the number of students who receive both the SEN Fund and Government bursaries under the revised income criteria.