Additional Financial Assistance Akin to Bursaries for Preschool Children from Low-income Families

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether it will consider providing additional financial assistance similar to bursaries, for preschool children from low-income families.

I thank the member for his question. The Government is committed to giving all children a good start.

Today, lower-income families receive significant assistance for preschools. With existing support, such as fee caps at Government-supported preschools, broad-based basic subsidies and means-tested additional subsidies, lower-income families can pay as low as $3 per month for full-day childcare in an Anchor Operator (AOP) preschool or $1 for half-day kindergarten in an AOP preschool or Ministry of Education Kindergarten.

From the fourth quarter of 2024, more families will qualify for the maximum childcare subsidies for their income tier. Families with a monthly household income of $6,000 and below will be eligible for these maximum childcare subsidies. We will also lower fee caps for Anchor and Partner Operator preschools in 2025 and 2026, to make childcare more affordable for more Singaporean families.

We will soon provide additional support to supplement the efforts of lower-income families that prioritise their child’s preschool education. The ComLink+ Progress Package for Preschool will be launched in the second half of this year. ComLink+ families that meet enrolment and attendance requirements under the package as part of their action plan will receive financial top-ups in their child’s Child Development Account (CDA). Parents can use the CDA funds to defray child-raising expenses, such as preschool fees, medical expenses and assistive technology.

Some families may face more difficult circumstances and require more assistance. Under the Child Care Financial Assistance scheme, eligible families may apply for additional financial assistance for their childcare fees and a one-time grant of up to $1,000 to offset preschool enrolment costs and out-of-pocket expenditures. Families that require financial assistance for basic living expenses may contact the Social Service Offices.

We regularly review our schemes to ensure that there is comprehensive support for our lower-income families to give their children a good start in life.