Call to review MOE policy for home-schoolers

I refer to last week's article, 'Parents upset by MOE's rules for home-taught kids', on how some home-schooled pupils are required to retake their PSLE even when they qualify for secondary school.

It is difficult to understand why home-schoolers are held to a higher standard than that required by national schools.

If MOE's concern is that all children who are Singapore citizens should receive adequate primary education (the rationale for the Compulsory Education Act, I believe), then would it not be sufficient that all children, whether they are schooled in national schools, madrasahs or at home, be required to meet one common standard - that is, to take and pass PSLE?

I also feel that the policy to exclude home-schoolers from the secondary school admission process needs to be reviewed.

As it stands, it appears that home-schoolers will be admitted only after all the mainstream students are allocated places in schools. Hence, the admission of home-schoolers to secondary schools is no longer based on meritocracy. It puts them at a disadvantage.

Parents decide on home-schooling for various reasons. One reason is that they discover their children have special needs, such as dyslexia, and decide to keep the children at home to give them more of the attention they need. Others home-school their children to inculcate values, or provide space for their children to develop in their own time.

The Compulsory Education Act was implemented to ensure that all Singapore children receive quality primary education. It also protects children from irresponsible parents or guardians who do not give them access to education. However, parents of home-schooled kids do not belong in this category.

The decision to home-school children is made after serious consideration, and often requires much sacrifice, such as the loss of one parent's income. Thus, it is sufficient to follow the same academic benchmarks as the mainstream schools, and only fair to offer home-taught kids the same opportunities in the admission process.

Chee Kok Hoong