Parliamentary Replies
Attendence of Children in Pre-schools
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Halimah Yacoob (MP for Jurong GRC)
Question
To ask the Minister for Education:
- how many children did not attend pre-school this year;
- how effective are the measures taken to address this issue; and
- whether the Ministry expects the problem to exacerbate in 2009 in view of the current economic downturn.
Response
Preliminary joint efforts by MOE, MCYS and grassroots organisations in the outreach programme to reduce the percentage of children not attending pre-school are bearing results. Measures included volunteers from the Grassroots Organisations visiting families with 5-year old children who are not attending pre-school to understand their reasons and to encourage them to do so. Places in PCF kindergartens were offered and help for financial assistance given, if necessary.
MOE has also been working with primary schools to identify 6-year old children who are not attending pre-school at the point of the Primary One registration exercise. Based on self declared information, families were identified and encouraged by the Self-Help Groups to register their children in PCF kindergartens.
With these efforts in place, we have reduced the percentage of those entering Primary 1 without any pre-school education from more than 4% to about 2.5%.
Despite these improvements, these efforts should be continued and stepped up as the families concerned would have multiple problems, often beyond the need for financial help. MOE, MCYS and the Grassroots Organisations will continue their efforts in the coming years.
For financial help, there are many schemes in place. The Baby Bonus Scheme was enhanced in Aug 2008, and the monies in their Child Development Account (CDA) can be used by parents to pay pre-school fees. Children receive a cash gift and enjoy matching Government contributions in the CDA.
In addition, a number of financial assistance schemes have also been put in place to help children from lower-income families. MCYS provides a fee subsidy under its Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) for children from low-income families. Furthermore, families that cannot afford the initial costs related to sending their children to kindergarten (e.g. registration fee, uniforms) may also be considered for a Start-up Grant of up to $200 per child per year.
Children who attend childcare centres receive a universal child care subsidy. Over and above the universal child care subsidy, working parents with monthly household income not exceeding $1,800 can also apply for the Centre-based Financial Assistance Scheme for Childcare (CFAC).
For those who need further help, community-based support is available through the Grassroots Organisations, self-help groups and PCF kindergartens, to supplement the government subsidies. For example, CDAC and MENDAKI provide additional financial assistance to needy families, under the Pre-School Assistance and Support Scheme (PASS) and Education Trust Fund (ETF) initiatives respectively. Advisers and grassroots leaders can also tap on the Citizens’ Consultative Committees’ (CCC) Welfare and Education Fund, and the ComCare Fund to assist their residents who need financial support to send their children to pre-school.
In short, families who need help will have access to financial and other assistance.