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The special education teacher workforce increased by about 300 between 2021 and 2025, after a series of measures to improve remuneration, recruitment, and professional development.
Desmond Lee, Minister for Education said the special education (SPED) teacher workforce grew from about 1,900 in 2025, alongside student enrolment growth from about 7,000 to 9,000. The increase came with the addition of five more SPED schools over the period.
The average resignation rate among SPED teachers was 10% over the five years, with the most commonly cited reasons being a desire to change job type, personal reasons, and family commitments.
Minister Lee shared the figures in response to a parliamentary question on the SPED teacher workforce by MP Dr Charlene Chen, Tampines GRC.
Measures to support SPED teacher workforce growth
To support SPED capacity expansion, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has been working with Social Service Agencies (SSAs) to improve remuneration, recruitment, and professional development efforts.
The aim is to grow the teacher workforce in tandem with the growth in the student population.
MOE updated the salary guidelines for SPED teachers in 2024, following the launch of the SPED teacher career and competency frameworks and role profiles in 2020. Work has also been underway to help the sector adopt the recommended salary ranges and implement performance-based remuneration.
A shared pool of relief teachers has also been made available to SPED schools, who can step in when SPED teachers are away for training or leave.
Recruitment and professional development
Recruitment efforts have been boosted through the SPED Teachers’ Career Fair for SPED schools and facilitating the sector’s participation in career fairs by universities.
In 2024, MOE introduced the School Staff Developer role in SPED schools to foster a culture of continual learning and promote wellbeing.
Untrained and serving SPED teachers can access professional development opportunities through the National Institute of Education (NIE) and MOE-appointed trainers. MOE has also partnered with various SPED schools to establish Communities of Practice (CoP) in areas such as multiple disabilities, autism and intellectual disability, to deepen SPED teachers’ expertise in these areas.
Leadership development
MOE has worked with SSAs and SPED schools to identify and nurture performing teachers with school leadership potential.
These teachers can attend milestone programmes such as the Management and Leadership in Schools (MLS) and Teacher Leader Programme. The Leadership Development Programme was also rolled out in 2025 to grow the leadership bench in the SPED sector.
Reducing administrative workload
More recently, MOE has been working to reduce teachers’ administrative burden by onboarding SPED schools onto its Parents Gateway system. This will allow schools to provide information more readily to parents and caregivers of their students.
Half of the schools are scheduled to be onboarded by the third quarter of 2027.
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