Participation Rates of Schools and Students for UPLIFT Enhanced School Resourcing and GEAR-UP Programmes in Past Five Years
Ministry of EducationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the participation rates in the UPLIFT Enhanced School Resourcing (UESR) and GEAR-UP programmes as raised by Associate Professor Jamus Jerome Lim. Minister for National Development Desmond Lee stated that by 2025, UESR reached 100 schools and GEAR-UP 120 schools, benefiting over 11,000 students annually. He noted that 30% of target students with prior absenteeism achieved regular attendance through these initiatives designed for disadvantaged learners. These programmes provide additional resourcing and community partnerships to foster school engagement and educational progress for students with higher needs. Minister for National Development Desmond Lee added that from 2026, both initiatives will be integrated into a new enhanced support package for schools.
Transcript
11 Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Education for each of the past five years, how many (i) schools and (ii) students participated in the Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce Enhanced School Resourcing programme and the Guiding and Empowering Students for Affiliation and Resilience to Unlock their Potential programme, respectively.
Mr Desmond Lee: As part of the Ministry of Education's (MOE's) efforts to uplift students from disadvantaged backgrounds, selected schools were given additional resources and worked with community partners to encourage their students with higher needs to attend school regularly, a key factor that reflects the students' engagement in learning and enables them to make educational progress.
Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce (UPLIFT) Enhanced School Resourcing (UESR) and Guiding and Empowering Students for Affiliation and Resilience to Unlock their Potential (GEAR-UP) were rolled out across different phases since 2019. By the end of 2025, UESR provided additional resourcing to 100 schools, while GEAR-UP was implemented in 120 secondary schools, with some schools running both initiatives. Collectively, more than 11,000 students benefited annually from these initiatives. About 30% of the target students who previously had absenteeism issues managed to achieve regular school attendance over time.
As part of a holistic review to strengthen support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, UESR and GEAR-UP have been folded into a new enhanced support package for schools from 2026, which MOE had recently announced at this year's Committee of Supply debate.