Thursday 30 October 2014

Mother Tongue Exemption in Singapore





This blog details the steps to obtaining Mother Tongue Exemption in Singapore.


Here are the facts:

1.     Every student who attends Singapore local school has to take a Mother Tongue Language.

2.     There are only two valid reasons for exemption.  These are as follows:

(i)             The student has joined or re-joined the school system mid-stream without any prior learning of Mother Tongue Language (MTL).  Generally, the student has to be away from Singapore for 2 years or more.

(ii)      Students with a medical condition that would adversely affect their ability to cope with MTL.

                        The top 3 conditions for MTL exemption are:
      • Dyslexia
      • Autism Spectrum Disorder
      • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)                                                       

3.     Currently, approximately 3.5% of school going students are exempted from MTL.

The above information can be found here: http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/parliamentary-replies/2014/05/statistics-and-criteria-for-mother-tongue-language-exemption.php


I applied for MTL exemption under point (ii) and my child has none of the top 3 conditions.




3 comments:

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  2. Hi there. Thanks for sharing. I am now worried for my son as he has been failing his Chinese since P4 and now in P5 we suspect he might have Adhd. If you do read this, can you contact me at meltembaga@yahoo.com. There are some things I would like to ask you. Thanks.

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  3. Hihi! My p2 son is diagnosed with ADDHD, Language processing disorder and anxiety disorder but MOE still reject our application saying exemption will only be considered if it severely affects overall academic performance. He has been failing chinese and doing ok for eng and math. They dont understd how much stress and hard work special needs kids need to put in to pass other subjs. hai..


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