More support for disadvantaged students, review of milestone exams among MOE initiatives

SINGAPORE – From 2027, primary school pupils with high academic potential can attend advanced classes at 15 designated centres across the country, following the recent discontinuation of the Gifted Education Programme.

Separately, a new single application exercise in 2028 will replace separate posting exercises for students to apply for courses at junior colleges, Millennia Institute, polytechnics or the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).

In addition, three new special education schools will be set up by the early 2030s, and existing schools will get more or larger campuses from the second half of 2026.

Here are seven other key announcements made during the debate on the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) budget on March 3.

1. More support for disadvantaged students

Additional manpower and funding will be given to more primary and secondary schools to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds, Education Minister Desmond Lee said on March 3.

From 2026, MOE will provide 157 primary and secondary schools with more manpower and funding, up from 100 currently. This will benefit around 20,000 students annually, said Mr Lee during the debate on his ministry’s budget.

“Our goal is clear: We want every child in our schools to achieve his or her full potential, regardless of background,” he said.

Mr Lee said existing initiatives such as Uplift Enhanced School Resourcing and Gear-Up – both started in 2019 – will be combined into a single support package for schools.

Uplift Enhanced School Resourcing provides selected primary and secondary schools with additional resources such as teachers and referrals to organisations in the community that can support students with greater needs. Gear-Up is implemented in secondary schools to strengthen after-school support for students.

MOE will work with schools to better identify disadvantaged students and provide customised and coordinated support. This includes after-school programmes and collaboration with agencies such as social service offices and family service centres.

The move is part of efforts to improve the educational and well-being support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, in line with the ComLink+ scheme.

Announced in 2023, ComLink+ aims to boost social mobility by spurring needy families – through financial incentives and other forms of support – to take steps to improve their lives.

2. Review of milestone exams, DSA

Mr Lee said MOE is prepared to review how it conducts milestone exams and how examination difficulty can be adjusted.

It will also review how the Direct School Admission scheme can be enhanced to strengthen student development, selection and accessibility, and how students are posted to secondary schools, including the viability of through-train options.

Mr Lee said Singapore’s education system has long been recognised for its academic rigour and excellence, but students should not be simply “good at acing exams”.

MOE will study moves to further break away from the education “arms race”, he said.

Addressing questions from MPs over the years about the need to set challenging questions at the Primary School Leaving Examination for secondary school selection, Mr Lee gave an example of a 2022 PSLE mathematics question, making the point that challenging questions are often structured in parts to help students attempt them progressively.

3. Enhancing employer incentives for ITE work-study diploma

To encourage more employers to provide training opportunities to learners, MOE and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) will enhance the employer incentive for the ITE work-study diploma for new cohorts from April, said Senior Minister of State for Education Janil Puthucheary.

The quantum will be raised from $15,000 to $20,000 for each trainee to defray costs such as trainees’ salaries and on-the-job training.

The ITE work-study diploma allows ITE graduates to gain a diploma while working full-time. Employers deliver about 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the curriculum through on-the-job training, and ITE delivers the remaining 20 per cent to 30 per cent through classroom learning.

The incentive disbursement will also be simplified. Currently, the $15,000 incentive is paid out based on employers’ claims upon completion of specific activities. Depending on the amount claimed, employers might not get the full $15,000. In contrast, the change will see a full $20,000 incentive be disbursed at several milestones over the course duration.

4. Teaching AI literacy in schools

The Code for Fun programme in primary and secondary schools will be updated with AI literacy skills, and made available to all schools in 2027. It will be compulsory for upper primary pupils and encouraged at the lower secondary levels.

Minister of State for Education Jasmin Lau said younger pupils will have lower exposure and closer supervision, and must build strong foundations in literacy, numeracy, reasoning and self-discipline to use artificial intelligence (AI) wisely.

She said students will use AI in subjects like Design and Technology or General Paper to generate ideas, refine arguments or compare sources. “But they will also be guided to evaluate what the AI produces, check its accuracy and include their personal voice and opinions, instead of just accepting what AI generates.”

In 2026, cyberwellness lessons in the Character and Citizenship Education curriculum have also been updated to include validating information from generative AI and identifying deepfakes.

Ms Lau said MOE will ensure assessment approaches remain fit for purpose, including retaining the emphasis on in-person assessments, making greater use of oral explanations, and the demonstration of process, not just final output, when it comes to assessments where AI tools can be used.

5. Support for AI upskilling

From the second half of 2026, institutes of higher learning will offer selected AI-related courses for their alumni at a significant discount for one year, said Ms Lau. This is in the hope that alumni can deepen their skills and reconnect with their institutions and professional networks.

She added that SSG, in partnership with the Singapore Institute of Technology, will launch a self-diagnostic AI tool to help individuals gauge their level of AI readiness, and get recommendations for suitable SSG-supported courses.

The self-diagnostic tool will be available on the MySkillsFuture portal by the second quarter of 2026, she said.

6. SkillsFuture updates

To provide more options for mid-career Singaporean learners, the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme course catalogue will be expanded to include Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) full qualification courses, said Dr Janil.

Around 200 WSQ full qualification courses are expected to qualify for the programme from the fourth quarter of 2026. These courses will span a wide range of sectors, such as healthcare, information and communications, engineering, media and early childhood, he said.

Dr Janil added that SSG will revamp the MySkillsFuture portal with curated course recommendations for in-demand skill areas such as AI, occupation-based course exploration tools, and an AI-powered chatbot for personalised guidance.

With this, individuals can enrol directly in courses using pre-filled Singpass information, he said.

The revamped portal will be rolled out by the second quarter of 2026.

7. A boost for mother tongue language learning

MOE will expand support for the Mother Tongue Language Learning and Promotion committees by providing higher funding of $33 million in the financial years 2026 to 2030.

This is up from $30 million in the last five years, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education Syed Harun Alhabsyi, adding that more attention will be given to supporting parents with young children.

These committees rally the support of community organisations to create an environment conducive for the use of mother tongue languages beyond schools.

From June 2026, the committees will work with community centres to offer free workshops led by pre-school mother tongue teachers, to help parents integrate their mother tongue into daily communication with their children.