SINGAPORE — At Skool4Kidz, parents can expect greater involvement in their child’s pre-school education programme, which will leverage the use of technology, while the programme at E-Bridge Pre-School will look at fostering national identity through “open discussions” on different topics.

Those are the kind of programmes parents can come to expect under the two new commercial anchor operators.

Meanwhile, the third new entrant to the Anchor Operator Scheme, Metropolitan YMCA’s My World Preschool, will set up another 12 centres to double its number of childcare places to about 2,000.

E-Bridge Pre-School, a new arm of EtonHouse International, will offer the popular Hampton programme and is looking to set up 40 childcare centres over the next five years, the first three by July.

The new centres will provide about 5,000 new childcare places. Its curriculum will also include more “open discussions” about national identity, which was hard to do with Etonhouse International’s pre-school children, who come from more than 60 countries, said the group’s founder and Managing Director, Mrs Ng Gim Choo. Fees there will be about S$680 per month.

At Kinderland Consortium’s Skool4Kidz, children will go through a practical community-oriented programme and technology will be integral to the curriculum, said the school’s Director, Dr Jane Ching-Kwan. Skool4Kidz is aiming to provide about 2,000 places across 20 to 25 centres by 2018, beginning with the opening of its first centre in the middle of this year. It will charge a monthly fee of S$720, the maximum allowed for an anchor operator.

Before yesterday’s announcement, there have been two anchor operators here, NTUC’s My First Skool and the PAP Community Foundation (PCF). My First Skool’s 104 centres charge fees that range from S$575 to S$650.

With the new anchor operators on board, PCF Chief Executive Officer Tay Swee Yee said the organisation could slow down its opening of new centres. In total, PCF provides 48,000 places in 358 centres. It adds about 10 to 12 pre-school centres to its chain each year and its childcare fees run between S$580 and S$630, while its new centres opening this year could see fees going up to S$72

“With the new anchor operators on board, there will definitely be more competition among the operators, but parents will also benefit in terms of accessibility,” Mr Tay said.

“A lot of time was spent on the quantity component and now we can focus more on building on our quality.” 

Correction: The original article stated that PCF provides 48,000 childcare places in 358 centres. This is incorrect. It provides 48,000 childcare and kindergarten places in 358 centres. It also adds 10 to 12 centres to its chain each year. And childcare fees are between S$580 and S$630. We apologise for the error. This article was edited at 4.45pm on Jan 28, 2014.