Skills upgrading, special education among 8 key announcements from MOE’s budget – AutismSTEP
SINGAPORE – A wide range of measures covering skills upgrading, special education and arts appreciation were announced in Parliament on March 4. They were unveiled during the second day of the debate on the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) budget.
For students, parents and teachers:
1. More arts and cultural appreciation opportunities
More students will get to attend live music performances at professional concert venues, with the nationwide roll-out of the Performing Arts-Based Learning scheme for secondary schools, following a successful pilot.
Minister of State for Education Gan Siow Huang said the scheme was trialled in 2023 at 22 secondary schools, allowing students to experience such performances that were specially produced and staged at a professional concert venue.
They also had pre- and post-concert music lessons held in class.
MOE and the National Arts Council partnered key cultural institutions and local performing arts groups to make the scheme possible, added Ms Gan.
The scheme will be progressively rolled out to all secondary schools from 2024 to 2027.
2. More sharing between parent support groups
Almost every school today has a parent support group, which has unique and useful experiences that other groups can learn from, noted Ms Gan.
To encourage sharing of these experiences across groups, every parent support group will be part of a Support Circle from 2024, said Ms Gan.
These circles will be made up of parent support group representatives from around 10 schools.
They can decide on the topics to collaborate on, such as supporting parents of children with special education needs or strengthening student mental well-being.
3. Higher salaries for Sped teachers
Special education (Sped) teachers will receive higher salaries in the next few years, as part of broader moves to raise the quality of education in the sector and strengthen support for students with special needs.
Second Minister for Education Maliki Osman said that between 2024 and 2026, Sped classroom teachers can receive salary increases of up to 12 per cent, while teacher aides can receive increases of up to 15 per cent.
From 2024, starting salaries for Sped classroom teachers and teacher aides will increase by up to 15 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively, he said in Parliament on March 4.
There are currently close to 1,700 Sped teachers and about 800 teacher aides.
4. Lower fees for Sped students
Nine Sped schools are expected to further reduce fees by up to 60 per cent, said Dr Maliki. This comes after six Sped schools with higher fees lowered their fees by at least 25 per cent in 2020.
The latest move means the maximum monthly fees chargeable for Singaporean students will be reduced from $150 to $90, he said.
The nine schools are Awwa School @ Napiri, both Eden School campuses, Pathlight School, Rainbow Centre at Margaret Drive, Yishun Park and Admiral Hill, as well as St Andrew’s Autism School and St Andrew’s Mission School. They serve students with autism spectrum disorder and multiple disabilities.
About 3,500 students will benefit from this shift, which will take effect by mid-2025, said Dr Maliki. There are currently about 8,000 students in 25 Sped schools here.
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