MOE Financial Assistance Scheme Singapore: What SEN Families Need to Know

Your child's therapy costs S$300 a month. Private assessments ran another S$2,000. Shadow teacher fees are piling up. And on top of all that, the school still sends home bills for textbooks, uniforms, and bus fares.

If your household income qualifies, the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) eliminates several of those school-related costs entirely — freeing up cash you can redirect toward your child's SEN support.

What MOE FAS Actually Covers

The MOE Financial Assistance Scheme is a means-tested programme available to Singapore Citizens attending government or government-aided schools. It covers:

• Full waiver of standard school fees and standard miscellaneous fees
• Free textbooks provided by the school
• Free school attire (uniforms, PE attire, shoes)
• Transport and meal assistance under the applicable FAS terms; confirm the current amount and eligibility with the school

For SPED school students, the benefits work slightly differently. SPED school fees for Singapore Citizens are already capped at S$90 per month after MOE subsidies. The SPED Financial Assistance Scheme may provide additional assistance for eligible lower-income families; ask the school what applies.

Who Qualifies

MOE revised the FAS income criteria upward in 2026, expanding coverage to an additional 31,000 students. Eligibility is assessed through the school under the current GHI/PCHI criteria; ask the school for the thresholds that apply to your application.

PCHI is calculated by dividing your total gross household income by the number of household members. For larger families or those with multiple dependents — common in SEN households where one parent may have reduced work capacity — the PCHI threshold is often the easier route to qualification.

How to Apply

Applications go through your child's school. You'll need:

• NRIC copies for all household members
• Latest 3 months of payslips or CPF contribution history for all working adults
• Latest IRAS Notice of Assessment
• Any proof of unemployment, retirement, or medical leave (if applicable)

The school's administrative office processes the application and should tell you its current decision timeline. If you're rejected, ask how to appeal and whether updated documentation or additional context about your household circumstances is needed.

Stacking FAS with SEN-Specific Subsidies

Here's what most parents miss: MOE FAS and SEN-specific financial schemes are not mutually exclusive. They address different cost categories, and qualifying families should be applying for both.

MOE FAS handles school-level costs — fees, books, uniforms, meals, transport.

SEN-specific schemes handle therapy and support costs:

• Assistive Technology Fund (ATF) — up to 90% subsidy for assistive devices, with a S$40,000 lifetime cap. The PCHI threshold was raised to S$4,800 in 2026, expanding access for some middle-income families.
• EIPIC subsidies — for children under 6, early intervention fees can drop to as low as S$10-S$50 per month for the lowest income brackets.
• Medisave (CDMP) — up to S$500-S$700 per year from CPF Medisave for outpatient treatment of ADHD, Autism, and other qualifying conditions.
• ComCare — short-to-medium-term cash assistance for families in financial difficulty.

A family could qualify for MOE FAS, ATF, and CDMP Medisave support at the same time, but eligibility and amounts depend on each scheme. The combined support can be significant.

The SPED School FAS Difference

If your child attends a SPED school rather than a mainstream MOE school, the financial assistance structure differs:

• SPED school fees are already heavily subsidised — capped at S$90/month for citizens after MOE grants
• The SPED FAS provides additional fee waivers for families meeting income criteria
• Transport support may be available under the applicable SPED/FAS terms; confirm the current coverage with the school
• Some SSAs (Social Service Agencies) operating SPED schools have their own bursary funds

Contact the SPED school's social worker directly and ask which schemes may apply and whether separate applications are required.

What FAS Doesn't Cover

FAS specifically addresses school-related costs. It does not cover:

• Private therapy fees (speech therapy, occupational therapy, ABA)
• Private psycho-educational assessments (separately priced by the provider)
• Shadow teacher costs (S$1,000+ per month)
• Enrichment or tuition programmes

For these expenses, you need to look at the separate SEN subsidy landscape — ATF, Medisave CDMP, ComCare, and SSA-specific bursaries.

Next Steps for SEN Families

If you're spending significant money on both school costs and SEN support, start with MOE FAS as the foundation. Ask the school for the current application process and decision timeline; savings on school basics can free up budget for the therapy and support costs that FAS doesn't touch.

For a complete walkthrough of every financial entitlement available to SEN families in Singapore — including current eligibility criteria, application sequences, and strategies for stacking subsidies — the Singapore Special Ed Parent Rights Compass maps every scheme across MOE, MSF, and MOH in one place.

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