Homeschooling vs school in Singapore: a fair comparison

Singapore Citizens born after 1 January 1996 and living in Singapore must attend a national primary school unless they are exempted. School is the default; home-schooling needs MOE's approval.

MOE considers home-schooling applications case by case and asks for a learning plan covering English, Mother Tongue, Mathematics and Science, and Character and Citizenship Education. MOE has reported around 70 applications a year, with nearly all approved.

• School. Your child follows MOE's curriculum in a class with trained teachers, a set timetable and a wide range of subjects and activities.
• Home-schooling. You decide the pace, methods and materials, and can follow your child's interests. MOE has said parents may use different curricula, but because your child must sit the PSLE, most families keep MOE's syllabuses close.

Home-schooling gives you far more one-to-one time and flexibility. It also puts the whole responsibility for planning, teaching and checking progress on you.

School pupils and home-schooled children both sit the PSLE at the end of primary. The difference is that home-schooled children exempted from compulsory education must also meet a PSLE benchmark set by MOE.

MOE has described this benchmark as pegged to the 33rd percentile of national primary school students taking four standard-level subjects that year. In its 2019 results release, MOE reported that 14 of 43 exempted home-schooled children from that cohort did not meet the benchmark and would need to re-attempt the PSLE.

Home-schooled children also take a Primary 4 assessment set by MOE. These checkpoints give useful feedback, but they mean home-schooling in Singapore is not a way to avoid exams.

For school pupils, the PSLE score leads to Secondary 1 posting. Under Full Subject-Based Banding, students are placed in Posting Groups 1, 2 or 3 based on their score, which sets the starting level of their subjects. They can then take subjects at a more demanding level as they progress.

MOE has noted that many home-schoolers go on to enrol in secondary schools after the PSLE. If that is your plan, ask MOE early how your child would take part in the Secondary 1 posting exercise, as we could not confirm the exact process for home-schooled candidates.

MOE has also said it does not track home-schooling at secondary level, because those children are no longer covered by the Compulsory Education Act.

• School. Daily time with a large peer group, co-curricular activities (CCAs) and a shared school identity.
• Home-schooling. Time with a wider range of ages and adults, and more control over the environment, which can help children who struggle in large groups. Friendships need more deliberate effort through classes, sport, co-ops and community activities.

Neither guarantees a happy child. Think about your child's temperament and what they need right now.

National schools are government-funded, so the main cost of home-schooling is usually a parent's time and income. You also pay for materials, enrichment and any tuition yourself.

Home-schooled Singapore Citizens still receive annual Edusave contributions from age 7 to 16, which MOE says can be used for approved enrichment programmes.

Start with your child: what they need, what is working and what isn't. Then be honest about your own capacity to teach, especially Mother Tongue and upper-primary maths and science, for several years.

If you go ahead, check with MOE's Compulsory Education Unit about timing, and ask whether you should also take part in Primary 1 registration so a school place is available if plans change.