Homeschooling in Singapore: the law, MOE exemption and PSLE

Singapore's Compulsory Education Act 2000 requires certain children to attend a national primary school regularly. Under section 3, this applies to a child of compulsory school age who was born after 1 January 1996, is a Singapore citizen and lives in Singapore.

The Act defines a child of compulsory school age as a child above the age of 6 who has not yet turned 15 and who meets the conditions for receiving primary education set by the Director-General of Education. In practice, compulsory education covers the six years of primary school.

If your child is not a Singapore citizen, or does not live in Singapore, the Act's attendance requirement does not apply to them in the same way. If you are unsure whether it applies to your family, ask MOE's Compulsory Education Unit.

For a child covered by the Act, homeschooling is only lawful with an exemption from compulsory education. MOE lists approval to be home-schooled as one of the ways a child can be exempted. The other routes are attending a designated school, NorthLight School or Assumption Pathway School, or being unsuitable to attend any national primary school because of a physical, intellectual or developmental disability.

MOE says each home-schooling application is considered case by case. In a 2024 parliamentary reply, MOE said it receives around 70 home-schooling applications a year, mostly at Primary 1, and that it engages interested parents before they apply to check their eligibility and commitment.

If a child of compulsory school age does not attend a national primary school and is not exempted, the Act makes each parent liable for an offence, with a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both. So make sure your exemption is in place before you start home-schooling.

MOE's published conditions for home-schooling have included:

• An academic learning plan for four subjects: English Language, Mother Tongue Language, Mathematics and Science.
• A teaching plan for Character and Citizenship Education, setting out how you will develop your child's character, citizenship and social-emotional skills.
• Parents with the capability to teach and provide a holistic learning environment. MOE refers to parents having the necessary qualifications, but does not publish a fixed list in the sources we checked.
• Sitting the PSLE in those four subjects at standard level and meeting the PSLE benchmark (see below).

For children with moderate to severe special educational needs, MOE's conditions differ: parents provide an Individualised Education Plan describing the curriculum and the desired learning outcomes.

MOE says it reviews these criteria annually. Treat this list as a summary and confirm the current conditions with the Compulsory Education Unit.

Approval is not the end of MOE's involvement. MOE has said that parents submit a progress report every year updating it on their child's learning in the different areas, and that MOE inspectors may make home visits.

Home-schooled Singapore citizen children also take a Mid-Term Assessment in Primary 4. MOE describes it as a way for parents to get a broad picture of their child's progress halfway through primary school. MOE issues information booklets with test formats and specimen questions in Primary 3, and contacts parents whose children did not do well to discuss their plans.

Children exempted from compulsory education, including home-schooled children, are required to sit the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and meet the PSLE benchmark. MOE says this ensures they have a baseline foundation in their academic education.

MOE has described the benchmark as being pegged at the 33rd percentile of all students in national primary schools taking four standard-level subjects in the same year. MOE has also listed a National Education quiz to be taken before the PSLE. Check the current wording with MOE, as these details come from MOE's published conditions and may be updated.

If the benchmark is not met, MOE's PSLE results releases have stated that home-schooled children who did not meet it must re-attempt the PSLE the following year. In the 2019 results, for example, 14 of 43 home-schooled children from the 2014 Primary 1 cohort did not meet the benchmark.

The Compulsory Education Act covers primary education only. Once your child has completed primary education, there is no further compulsory education requirement under the Act, and no MOE exemption is needed to home-school at secondary level.

MOE has noted that many home-schooled children eventually enrol in mainstream primary schools, or in secondary schools after the PSLE. Others continue learning at home and later sit national examinations as private candidates through the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB).

From 2027, the GCE N(T)-, N(A)- and O-Level certificates are being replaced by the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC), which SEAB says private candidates can register for if they meet its eligibility criteria, such as age.

• Designated schools. Children attending a designated school (such as certain religious schools) are exempted through a separate route, with applications made through the school. This guide only covers home-schooling.
• Deferring Primary 1. Delaying the start of Primary 1 is a separate MOE process, not a home-schooling exemption.
• Mother Tongue exemptions. Exemption from studying a Mother Tongue Language is a separate process with its own eligibility rules; ask MOE how it applies to a home-schooled child.

For the next steps, see our guide to applying for the compulsory education exemption, and our guide to the PSLE for homeschoolers.