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Education in Singapore : special needs

Special Needs Schools
As of January 2009, there are 20 Special Education (SPED) schools run by Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) receiving government funding, with a total of 4,619 students and 737 teaching staff. Of these schools, three cater to those with sensory impairment (e.g. visual, aural) and offer curriculum similar to those of mainstream primary schools. Students take the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) at the end of their education and proceed to secondary schools. Five schools cater to those with autism, and one of which has curriculum similar to mainstream schools, thus offering a pathway for students to take the PSLE and the GCE N/O Levels. The remaining 14 schools cater to those intellectually disabled or with multiple disabilities.

In addition, there are four privately run SPED schools and a Foreign System School offering special education.

Increased Support since 2004
Support for special education increased significantly since the Prime Ministers call for a more inclusive society in his 2004 National Day Rally speech. Officially, there was the announcement of the Enabling Masterplan 2007-2011 for people with disabilities. It is a thorough and wide-ranging plan advocating a life stage approach, from birth to adulthood (with Chapter Three covering early intervention and education for children with special needs).

The Ministry of Education took a more active and leading role in special education, working with special schools to develop targets for learning outcomes and VWOs to appoint school management staff.

There was also better integration between special and mainstream education, with more opportunities for students with and without disabilities to interact and partnerships between mainstream schools and special schools.

Special Needs Officers (SNOs) were introduced into mainstream schools in 2005 to support students with learning needs such as mild to moderate dyslexia or high functioning autism. To support this scheme from 2005 to 2010, S$15 million has been set aside.

To help mainstream teachers learn to teach students with disabilities, training schemes in special education were created, with a target of 10 percent of all mainstream teachers by 2010, through a part-time 108-hour Certificate in Special Needs Support that is offered by the NIE. Also, since 2005, all pre-service teachers have been introduced to the issue of disability through a 12-hour segment within a core course on student differences.

While government support for recurrent funding remains capped at four times the level of funding per primary student in mainstream schools, development funding of special school buildings increased from 90 percent to 95 percent (for projects approved after September 2004).

History of Special Education
As with many other countries, special education developed haphazardly, often with voluntary organisations as the main drivers. Over time, the government took on a coordinating and monitoring role.

One of the earliest centres for special education was Trafalgar Home, where in 1947, education was provided for children with leprosy. In 1949, the British Red Cross Society set up a home for crippled children. In 1951, it started providing education for the deaf. In 1956, the Association for the Blind set up a school. In 1957, the Spastic Childrens Association was formed and thus directed attention to children with cerebral palsy. In 1962, the Singapore Association for Retarded Children, later renamed Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) was formed, moving special education beyond those with physical and sensory disabilities to those with intellectual ones.

Government Support
Politically, the 1950s were turbulent times in Singapore. Apart from the efforts of VWOs, treatment and help for children with disability were usually found in hospitals. In 1958, the Singapore Council of Social Services (now NCSS) was set up to coordinate the efforts of VWOs.

Before 1988, special education was provided by the VWOs, with funding from the National Council of Social Services. The government line was that VWOs are the best agencies to run special schools, as they had a strong sense of mission, and their autonomy allowed them greater flexibility to respond quickly to new needs and demands. By then, there were 11 special schools run by seven VWOs. Enrolment stood at 2,301 students.

1988 was a turning point as MOE became an equal partner with NCSS in special education. This was based on the initiative of the Advisory Council for the Disabled (established by Dr Tony Tan, then Minister for Education). MOE would provide land for schools and financial support at twice the amount for a primary school student. The Community Chest would match the financial contribution. As a result, the maximum per capita cost per child was S$4,700 from MOE and S$4,000 from the Community Chest. The total is four times the amount spent on educating a primary school student.

In 1996, the government extended the Edusave Scheme to children in the SPED schools, three years after the scheme started in 1993.

Teacher Training
Local teacher training specific to special education began in 1984 when the Institute of Education, presently known as the National Institute of Education  (NIE), launched a 3-year programme leading to the Certificate in Special Education. In 1991, when it was re-organised as NIE, it launched a 2-year Diploma in Special Education. In 2003, a Masters in Special Education programme was established. This portended further degree and post-graduate programmes in Special Education.

Author
Tan Wen Sze

 

Reference
Lim, L. & Quah, M.M. (Eds.) (2004). Educating learners with diverse abilities. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.

Lim, L., Thaver, T. & Slee, R. (2008). Exploring disability in Singapore : a personal learning journey. Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education.

Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (2007). Enabling Masterplan 2007-2011. Retrieved September 30, 2009, from http://www.mcys.gov.sg/enablingmasterplan/MainReport.html.

Ministry of Education (2009). Special Education: Education Path. Retrieved September 30, 2009, from http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/special-education/path/.

Poon, K.K. & Khaw, J. (Eds.) (2007). Supporting students with special needs in mainstream schools: an introduction. Singapore: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

 

The information in this article is valid as at 2009 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Politics and Government>>Education
Special education--Study and teaching--Singapore
Students with disabilities--Singapore
Education>>Special education>>Students with disabilities

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