Ministry Of Community Development, Youth And Sports: Uplifting Pre-school Education for All

We refer to Ms Yvonne Lee’s letter (“Shouldn't all preschoolers be eligible for aid?”) and Mr Yee Jenn Jong’s letter (“Include private centres in preschool push”) on 10 March. 

The Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) disbursed by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) aims to ensure that children are not deprived of a preschool education because of the family’s financial circumstances. The increase in the eligible monthly household income criterion from $1,800 to $3,500, which takes effect on 1 April 2011, will allow more families to benefit from the KiFAS subsidies. 

For kindergartens to be eligible for KiFAS subsidies, they must be registered with the Ministry of Education (MOE), be non-profit, secular, and in a good financial position to provide quality pre-school education. These eligibility criteria serve to ensure that assistance is targeted at kindergartens that serve lower and middle-income households. There are about 240 eligible kindergartens which are well distributed across Singapore. 

MCYS and MOE are committed to enhancing the quality, accessibility and affordability of pre-school education. We make available a range of resources which are available to all pre-schools. These include funding to uplift the quality of pre-school educators and the Singapore Pre-school Accreditation Framework, which helps pre-schools appraise and improve their teaching, learning and management practices. MOE also provides resources for curriculum development and opportunities for professional development such as seminars, learning journeys and overseas work attachment programmes to all pre-school teachers. 

We thank Ms Lee and Mr Yee for their feedback and will continue to invest in uplifting the pre-school sector. 

Mrs Choo Lee See
Director of ComCare and Social Support Division
Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports 

Miss Sum Chee Wah
Director, Education Programmes
Ministry of Education