Policy on Allowing Exceptionally Gifted Children to Skip Grades and Attend University Earlier

Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Education (a) what is the Ministry's position on allowing exceptionally gifted children to (i) skip grades or (ii) attend university earlier; and (b) how many of such students have there been in the past five years.

Mr Chan Chun Sing: The Ministry of Education (MOE) will allow the grade-skipping of an exceptionally gifted student in the MOE school system, if he or she is assessed to be ready, both academically and socio-emotionally, for the higher grade level.

For exceptionally gifted students who apply for early admission to our local autonomous universities (AUs), their applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. In the last five years, no exceptionally gifted students skipped a grade in our schools. One exceptionally gifted student gained early admission to an AU.