Update on Pilot MOE Kindergarten Project
Ministry of EducationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the update on the pilot MOE Kindergarten project and pre-school educator recruitment raised by Dr Lim Wee Kiak. Acting Minister for Education (Schools) Ng Chee Meng noted that 15 kindergartens currently serve almost 1,700 children across HDB heartlands to provide quality, affordable education. Recruitment has attracted interest from trained teachers and fresh graduates, while a partnership with Singapore Polytechnic offers a full-time place-and-train diploma programme. Favourable parental feedback highlights improvements in children’s independence and expression within the engaging learning environment. The Ministry will continue monitoring the project’s progress and sharing good practices with the broader pre-school sector.
Transcript
29 Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked the Acting Minister for Education (Schools) if he will provide an update on the Ministry's pilot MOE Kindergarten project and the response to the Ministry's recruitment of pre-school educators.
Mr Ng Chee Meng: The Ministry of Education (MOE) Kindergartens (MKs) were first set up in 2014 with the intent to provide quality and affordable preschool education to Singaporeans and catalyse quality improvements in kindergarten education. To date, there are 15 MKs of which 12 are located within our primary schools and the remaining three in community sites. All are situated in Housing Development Board (HDB) heartlands for accessibility to children from a variety of backgrounds. The MKs currently serve a total of almost 1,700 children.
The MK positions, comprising Centre Heads, Deputy Centre Heads and teachers, have attracted the interest of both trained teachers from the sector, as well as fresh graduands from early childhood and care education courses. To better meet the manpower needs of MKs and other providers in the pre-school sector, MOE has also partnered Singapore Polytechnic to pilot a full-time place-and-train programme to select suitable candidates and put them through the Diploma in Kindergarten Education. MOE will continue its efforts to attract and retain good MK educators.
Over the past two years, we have received consistent favourable feedback from parents that their children enjoy the learning activities and are eager to attend MK. They shared that their children are better able to express themselves and are more independent, and conveyed their appreciation for the dedication of the teachers in providing a fun and engaging learning environment for their children.
MOE will continue to monitor the progress of MKs in delivering a quality curriculum that is relevant to the Singaporean child and work towards sharing good practices with the pre-school sector.