Implementing Fee Rebates for Households who Voluntarily Choose to Keep Their Preschool Children at Home during Phase Two (Heightened Alert) Period
Ministry of Social and Family DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim’s inquiry on whether ECDA would implement fee rebates for households voluntarily keeping preschool children at home during Phase Two (Heightened Alert). Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli B M M stated that preschools were encouraged to provide arrangements like fee offsets or financial assistance while managing their ongoing service costs. To support parents, MSF and ECDA waived minimum attendance requirements to ensure preschool subsidies and Child Care Financial Assistance continued to flow fully to families. Minister Masagos Zulkifli B M M also noted that centres could provide in-kind support through home-based activity resources to engage children who were not attending. Additionally, ECDA shared sector-developed resources on its website to assist parents who chose to keep their children home between 16 May and 13 June 2021.
Transcript
51 Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether ECDA will consider implementing fee rebates for households who voluntarily choose to keep their preschool children at home during the Phase Two (Heightened Alert) period.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Under Phase Two (Heightened Alert), from 16 May to 13 June 2021, preschools had remained open to support parents who need to work. Parents were encouraged to keep their children at home during this period where possible. As preschools continued to incur costs for service provision and the situation varied from centre to centre, we had encouraged centres and parents to work out suitable arrangements for children who did not attend preschool. For families who had chosen to keep their children at home during Phase Two (Heightened Alert) and who might have faced difficulties, preschools might consider in-kind support, such as home-based activity resources, fee offsets/discounts, or financial assistance.
To support preschools and parents keeping their children at home during Phase Two (Heightened Alert), MSF and ECDA waived the minimum attendance requirement to ensure that preschool subsidies and Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) continued to flow fully to parents. ECDA also shared home-based activity resources developed by the sector with preschools and parents, which they could make use of to engage their children at home. These resources are available on ECDA’s website and more will be provided over time.