PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION

PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION: 7.

Mr Michael Palmer asked the Minister for Education whether any steps will be taken to improve the standard of pre-school education and whether his Ministry intends to review and, if neces

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sary, improve the present guidelines issued for pre-schools.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education (Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M) (for the Minister for Education): Sir, since 2000, MOE has been taking steps to raise the quality of pre-school education, while maintaining the diversity in the sector. To do this, MOE has been focusing on the following four main areas specifically:

Firstly, improving the quality of pre-school educators. This is the key to quality pre-school education. We must have competent and confident pre-school teachers who are able to design and conduct engaging lessons and stimulating activities for their pupils. As such, MOE has been working with kindergartens to ensure that their teachers upgrade themselves to attain the required professional training and development to enable them to be more effective in the classrooms.

Secondly, MOE also provides a kindergarten curriculum framework. The framework establishes the outcomes and goals for pre-school education in Singapore, as well as a set of internationally accepted and established principles of early childhood education. MOE has also disseminated a teachers' resource package to guide kindergartens in designing and conducting a suitable education programme for their pupils.

Thirdly, conducting workshops and sharing sessions. These were intended for pre-school educators to help them implement the principles of the curriculum framework. The workshops and sharing sessions guide teachers in pedagogical skills such as designing their education programme and profiling their pupils' progress.

And lastly, encouraging kindergarten leaders to conduct self-appraisal. This will

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encourage kindergartens to work towards continual self-improvement. MOE assisted principals to do this by distributing a benchmarking tool called Standards for Kindergartens, and by conducting workshops and sharing sessions on self-appraisal. MOE also established a Kindergarten Manual to advise service providers and practitioners so as to give them a better understanding of the regulatory requirements and guidelines governing the operation of kindergartens.

MOE conducts regular reviews of teaching and learning in pre-schools in Singapore. These reviews inform MOE of the steps it can take to further help kindergartens improve the quality of teaching and learning they provide.

One of the areas MOE is looking into is enhancing the professional quality of the sector, for example, in uplifting teachers' proficiency in the English Language. More details of this initiative will be announced later.

Mr Michael Palmer (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Sir, can I just find out when the last curriculum review was done?

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Sir, the last curriculum was issued in 2003.

Mrs Josephine Teo (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Sir, I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, besides improving the quality of pre-school education, if the Ministry will be looking at how to improve the affordability of pre-school education, particularly for low-income families.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Sir, the Government has put in place the Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) to subsidise the fees of eligible kindergartens for children from low-income families. As a criterion, the net household income should be $1,500 and

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below. And the KiFAS provides 75% subsidy of the fees up to a cap of $65.

In addition, for families receiving KiFAS who are assessed of extra need, they can also be given a $200 start-up fund as a grant for attending pre-school. There are also other community funds available from self-help groups as well as committees such as CCCs, ComCare funds, Home Ownerships Plus Education (HOPE) scheme, and Mendaki's Education Trust Fund (ETF) for these families.