Total Quantum of Government Grants and Subsidies Provided to Operators or Preschools Under AOP and POP

87 Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each financial year in the last five years, what is the total quantum of Government grants and subsidies provided directly to operators of preschools under the (i) Anchor Operator and (ii) Partner Operator schemes, separate from subsidies disbursed to parents; and (b) what does this amount to on a per-enrolled-student basis for each scheme.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: The Government has invested significantly in the early childhood sector to give every child a good start in life. The annual Government expenditure on the early childhood sector has increased from around $1.5 billion in FY2020 to over $2 billion in FY2024. The average Government expenditure per preschool-aged child has increased from $7,900 to $13,000 over the same period, with a higher amount spent per child in anchor and partner operator (AOP and POP) preschools and on children from lower-income families.

We provide funding to AOPs and POPs to ensure that they invest in quality improvements and keep within monthly fee caps. These fee caps were lowered to $640 and $680, respectively, for full-day childcare this year. We will further reduce these fee caps to $610 and $650 respectively in 2026, and families will pay even less after basic and means-tested subsidies.