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Govt raises funding for pre-school sector to S$3b

SINGAPORE — The Government will more than double its spending on the pre-school sector over the next five years to over S$3 billion, in an effort to ramp up capacity and raise standards of early childhood education here.

The Ministry of Education will be setting up a few kindergartens to develop best practices 'to catalyse quality improvements'. TODAY file photo

The Ministry of Education will be setting up a few kindergartens to develop best practices 'to catalyse quality improvements'. TODAY file photo

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SINGAPORE — The Government will more than double its spending on the pre-school sector over the next five years to over S$3 billion, in an effort to ramp up capacity and raise standards of early childhood education here.

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced this in his Budget statement yesterday, as he reiterated the need to promote social mobility here. “To make a difference, we must start earlier in a child’s life — from the pre-school level,” he said.

To that end, there will be more pre-school anchor operators in the market, providing an additional 16,000 spaces by 2017. These spaces are also set to be situated nearer to homes and workplaces.

Currently, there are two anchor operators — NTUC First Campus and PAP Community Foundation (PCF) — which receive Government funding to offset operation costs in return for subsidised fees. Between the two anchor operators, they offer around 17,000 places across more than 200 pre-school centres .

Mr Tharman, who is also Finance Minister, also pledged to increase salary grants for anchor operators, enabling them to hire more graduates and diploma holders. Currently, 80 per cent of teachers in anchor pre-schools hold either a degree or diploma.

All pre-school teachers will also be better supported with teaching guides. The Government will further plan more structured training and career development, and provide scholarships for teachers to upgrade themselves, he added.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) will be setting up a few kindergartens to develop best practices “to catalyse quality improvements”, said Mr Tharman. An “Early Childhood Development Agency”, overseen by both the MOE and Ministry of Social and Family Development, will also be set up to drive improvements across the sector.

Pre-school operators TODAY interviewed welcomed the additional funding to attract and train qualified manpower. But with the Government’s plans to expand the anchor operator scheme, some observers expressed concern that this may squeeze out smaller players in the industry.

Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Laurence Lien welcomed the Government’s efforts to raise the quality of teachers and centralise early childhood measures under a single agency. “I hope the schemes introduced would go beyond the anchor operators benefiting too,” he added.

Mrs Leung Yee Ping, Executive Director of the Young Women’s Christian Association, which runs 11 pre-school centres, noted that about 70 to 75 per cent of their budget is spent on teachers’ salaries. She hopes that voluntary welfare organisations, like hers, will also receive funding support.

Two by Two Schoolhouse founder Sia Li-Anne wondered if having more anchor operator pre-schools may kill the diversity within the sector.

Mr Tay Swee Yee, Chief Executive of the PCF, welcomed the prospect of more anchor operators, adding that the sector will be able to accommodate more providers which fulfil the necessary prerequisites.

He felt that the salary grants provided will help his organisation to promote pre-school teaching as a career of choice, adding that there could be better communication on job demands and its purposefulness to attract more teachers.

NTUC First Campus Chief Executive Chan Tee Seng agreed that the Budget announcements “signal an important shift in how society values early childhood education”. “We believe it is time that people look upon a possible career in the (pre-school) sector differently,” he added. NG JING YNG

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Budget 2013

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