Is it mandatory to send children to secondary school in Singapore?

This may come as a surprise — no, secondary school is not mandatory in Singapore, and it is not covered under Singapore’s Compulsory Education act.

What is considered compulsory education in Singapore? Well, children living in Singapore must attend a national primary school regularly, if they are:

• A Singapore citizen
• Of compulsory school age (above six years old and under 15 years old)

This requirement also applies to children with moderate to severe special educational needs, and it is expected that they should enrol in a special education (SPED) school.

Of course, most parents in Singapore intend to send their children to both primary and secondary school. If this is not the case for your family, perhaps you’re considering homeschooling, or you may be facing situations that make schooling less of a priority.

Have more questions relating to school attendance in Singapore? Read on!

What penalties will Singapore parents face, if they don’t send their children to primary school?

Most children in Singapore are enrolled into primary school when they need to be, and only a small number of parents fail to meet registration requirements. However, some children may not attend school regularly, or at all.

Singapore takes a holistic approach in trying to resolve this:

• The Ministry of Education will locate and reach out to parents who do not register their children for Primary 1.
• Once enrolled, schools will monitor students' attendance. They will engage students and parents when they observe non-attendance or irregular attendance. This includes providing counselling to the students, having conferences with parents, and conducting home visits. If necessary, schools may also refer the child or family to community-based support programmes.
• If the child's attendance does not improve, schools will refer these cases to the Ministry of Education’s Compulsory Education unit for further investigation. If other forms of social assistance are required, agencies like the Ministry of Social and Family Development will be roped in for support.

With the above efforts, if parents still do not ensure their children's school attendance, their cases are escalated to the Compulsory Education Board, which may summon the parents and children for a formal hearing. Legal enforcement with fines and other penalties is a last resort.

Are there children who don’t have to go through compulsory education in Singapore?

There are three groups of children who are exempted from compulsory primary school education in Singapore. These are children who:

• Have received approval to be homeschooled
• Will attend a designated school, NorthLight School, or Assumption Pathway School
• Have been professionally assessed, with the conclusion that their needs cannot be met at a national primary school due to physical, intellectual, or developmental disabilities

“Designated school” currently refers to these Singapore-based schools:

• San Yu Adventist School
• Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah
• Madrasah Al-Ma'arif Al-Islamiah
• Madrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah
• Madrasah Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah

For information on applying for school exemptions, refer to the Ministry of Education’s website.

What if I want to homeschool my child in Singapore?

For parents who wish to homeschool their children during the primary school years, they will need to meet conditions such as these:

• Provide an academic learning plan for four subjects (English Language, Mother Tongue Language, Mathematics, and Science)
• Provide a teaching plan for Character and Citizenship Education
• Possess the necessary qualifications

Please note that homeschooled children are still required to sit for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). Specifically, they will have to:

• Take the PSLE exams at standard level
• Meet the PSLE benchmark for homeschoolers, which is pegged at the 33rd percentile of the same-year cohort, for the standard level
• Sit for a National Education quiz before the PSLE

For clarifications on homeschooling requirements, do contact the Compulsory Education Unit well in advance. You can also read our interview with a local homeschooling mother, who shares tips on the homeschool application process.

What if I can’t afford to send my child to a Singapore school?

As a first step, use the Ministry of Education’s financial assistance checker, to see if your family qualifies for support:

If you qualify for financial aid, you can follow the onscreen instructions to submit an application.

At the same time, we understand that completing the paperwork for financial aid can feel daunting. If you need help, please contact your child’s school, or check with social workers whom you have dealt with in the past. You can also search for support schemes and services on SupportGoWhere.

What if my child has school refusal? Do Singapore schools provide support?

School refusal refers to a child or teenager’s reluctance to attend school over a prolonged period. This may be due to social challenges like anxiety or bullying, or mental health conditions such as depression.

If your child is refusing to go to school, the best person to turn to is the school counsellor. Try not to let the issue drag on, and seek advice as soon as possible.

For quick tips on handling school refusal, you can refer to the guides by the National University Hospital and the Institute of Mental Health.

What if my child is asked to leave secondary school without completing their education?

This only happens to a handful of teenagers each year, and typically, they would already have been retained several times in secondary school.

For such students, once they are ready to try again, they can enrol in General Education courses offered by the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), which lead to the GCE N- or O-Level qualifications.

They can also take up ITE Skills Certificate courses, which provide foundational training in industry-relevant skill sets.

Want to talk to other parents about school-related concerns? Join the conversation on the KiasuParents forum!