Pre-school non-coverage surprised World Bank economist

While Singapore’s schooling is fairly well developed, pre-school is not covered by any Government programme, a phenomenon that surprised a Singaporean economist, Dr J P Tan. Dr Tan works in the World Bank’s human development division and was home recently for a family visit. Government support and funding of pre-school for kids is fairly common in developed economies and also in some developing countries. In Singapore, it is provided by private organisations which charge commercial fees that children from low-income families can hardly afford. As a result, many of our children are ill-prepared when they enter primary school.

We advocate a Government-subsidized and MOE-developed pre-school programme accessible to all children age 2 to 6 that will teach children basic skills in social interaction, singing, physical movements and develop a love for reading rather than emphasizing force-fed book-learning and written work. In a social conversation with Dr Wong Wee Nam, Michelle Lee and me, Dr Tan expressed the hope that the Government will extend coverage to pre-school with active support. We support her idea as it is key to levelling the playing field, as some parents are unable to provide a stimulating learning environment for their young children as they work long hours and may lack resources to do so, and this may hinder their children’s progress once they enter Primary One.

Picture below shows Michelle Lee, Tan Jee Say, Dr J P Tan and Dr Wong Wee Nam.

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