Long-term Impact of MOE Kindergarten Expansion on Economic Viability and Diversity of Kindergarten Sector

Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what assessment has the Ministry made of the long-term impact of MOE Kindergarten expansion on the economic viability and diversity of Singapore’s kindergarten sector; and (b) what is the current status of the Kindergarten Partner Operator scheme.

The Government's priority is to ensure access to affordable and quality preschools to give every child a good start in life. Today, around nine in 10 Singaporean children aged three to six are enrolled in preschool.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) currently operates 56 MOE Kindergartens (MKs) and has plans to open 60 MKs by 2029 to supplement other Government-supported preschools. MKs have helped to uplift the preschool sector, by putting MOE's Nurturing Early Learners Framework into practice and sharing quality preschool teaching and learning practices with other preschool operators. MKs have also complemented sector efforts to support children from lower-income families, through priority enrolment as well as targeted attendance and learning support. Additionally, MKs have encouraged bilingualism from young by offering all three official Mother Tongue Languages.

The Government also regularly calibrates our policies to be responsive to changes in the preschool landscape. In 2019, we had shared our intent to expand the Partner Operator (POP) scheme to a small number of quality kindergartens, where they would have to meet conditions to ensure accessibility, affordability and quality of care and education for children. However, we have observed falling demand for half-day kindergarten services due to growing demand for full-day care with more dual-income families over the past five years. With the changing preschool landscape, ECDA's priority is to meet the growing demand for full-day childcare, including through the POP scheme. ECDA will therefore not be extending the POP scheme to kindergartens, as there are already sufficient kindergarten places for children, including affordable kindergarten services offered by Anchor Operator (AOP) or MKs. Parents who prefer half-day service may also opt for half-day childcare services offered by the childcare operators, including the AOP and POP childcare centres.