More kids enrolled in pre-school; childcare fees more affordable

More children attended preschool in Singapore in the past decade, and childcare fees have become more affordable.

- Syarafana Shafeeq

In 2023, 90 per cent of children aged three to four were enrolled in pre-school, up from 75 per cent in 2013, while fee caps and government subsidies have kept preschool fees affordable, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said on July 15 in a new report.

The number of young children with developmental needs in early intervention programmes has also more than doubled since 2015, it added.

The current state of early childhood education and support in Singapore was one of the areas reviewed by MSF in an inaugural report on family trends.

The Government has taken steps such as imposing fee caps and expanding the capacity of preschool operators in recent years to improve early childhood education in Singapore.

The number of full-day infantcare places has nearly tripled over the past decade, from 5,257 in 2013 to 14,580 in 2023. Places in full-day childcare centres also increased from 96,340 in 2013 to 194,972 in 2023.