Fee hike planned at PCF centres in Sembawang

SINGAPORE — Kindergarten and childcare fees at 22 PAP Community Foundation (PCF) centres in the Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) will be raised by 20 per cent from January next year.

The fee hike surfaced yesterday when mother of two Joan Ng called on the PCF to do better in managing fee increases when she spoke during a residents’ dialogue with Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong, who was on a ministerial visit.

She also cited the lack of childcare places in the area. Currently, the waiting list at some of the centres could stretch to at least a hundred, according to some dialogue participants.

Mr Wong, who is also PCF Executive Committee Chairman, replied that the PCF operates on a non-profit basis and is “incurring losses” through its operations.

“We are paying more to our teachers, we are also recruiting more teachers and principals, and beefing up our manpower so that we can give quality pre-school education to every child. So when that happens, the cost goes up inadvertently,” Mr Wong said, adding that even as fees go up, Government subsides will keep pace to ensure affordability for low income families.

The last fee hike for centres in the area took place about five to six years ago and even with next year’s planned increase, the fees are still “well below market rate”, said Sembawang GRC Member of Parliament Vikram Nair, who co-hosted the dialogue. Two new childcare centres will be opening in the area to help ease the crunch, he added.

Previously, fee increases were implemented at several PCF centres, rather than across the island. Mr Wong, who noted that fees across PCF centres are not uniform, said centres that have not been raising their fees in the past will have to so to keep pace with rising costs. “But the average fees will still be way below market and that’s how we have maintained our fees,” he added.