Kindergarten fee hike
Found this out from Mr Brown’s blog.
Sharp hike in kindergarten feesFriday • April 25, 2008Alicia Wong
Some 1,500 students attending the seven PAP Community Foundation (PCF) kindergartens in Woodlands will see their fees shoot up by 30 to 100 per cent from July.
Then, about 50-odd PCF branches will raise their fees when a freeze in effect since last July comes to an end.
The PCF, which has 84 branches, each with up to eight centres, told Today "65 per cent of the branches will be adjusting their fees because operating costs have increased".
A letter sent by the PCF Woodlands branch to notify the parents of its 250 students said that PCF branches in the Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) — which comprises Sembawang, Woodlands, Marsiling, Admiralty, Canberra and Chong Pang wards — "collectively submitted our applications for a standardised GRC fee structure for approval to PCF HQ".
Woodlands kindergartens in Blk 601 and Blk 875 will hike monthly fees from $50.90 to $110 per child because they will be air-conditioned. Air-conditioned kindergartens in blocks 899B, 652 and 824 will increase fees from $86.60 to $110, while non-air-conditioned ones in blocks 624B and 853 will hike theirs from $50.90 to $95.
Nurseries run by PCF Woodlands will also see a $20 to $30 monthly fee increase from July.
PCF Woodlands' letter attributed the hikes to, among other things, rising operational costs and the need to fund training programmes for staff to meet new Ministry of Education (MOE) requirements.
Last month, the MOE raised the bar for kindergarten teachers, who will need a teaching diploma in pre-school education, not just a certificate.
Last year, the PCF froze fees and absorbed the additional 2 per cent Goods and Services Tax from July to December.
Some parents from the Woodlands kindergartens had petitioned against the hike. But PCF Woodlands administrator Amy Chia said "after much consideration", they decided to proceed with the fee adjustment, since the Government Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme is available for low-income parents.
Parent Aileen Lee, 31, who would pay $96 from July instead of $20 now, said she was "quite okay" with the hike.
Meanwhile, fees look set to go up at other kindergartens and childcare centres — if they have not already done so.
A 35-year-old accountant, whose son was enrolled at The Experiential Learning Centre last year, got a "rude shock" when the childcare centre said subsidised fees will increase from $250 to $400 per month by the year end.
Ms Kate Tan, 32, who is self-employed, said within eight months of enrolling her five-year-old son in a kindergarten at Seng Kang Methodist Church last year, fees shot up by 20 per cent to over $500 per term.
A check with four other kindergartens showed Josiah Montessori had raised its fees last year, and Kidzone Kindergarten will do so in May. One school at Jurong East is considering a hike, while Zulfa Kindergarten and Sembawang Mart will stick to its $110 fee.
"PCF school fees are reasonable and affordable … We hope parents will understand," said PCF executive Sherlene Wong.
This article comes from Today.
Several comments left on Mr Brown’s blog struck me.
Firstly, that these PAP kindergartens that are supposed to be public schools are raising their prices so dramatically parents might as well send their children to private schools.
Isn’t it the role of a public school system to provide cheap and affordable education to everyone? Isn’t it about education being the great leveler amongst the people so that regardless of your economic background you have a chance in this so-called meritocracy?
Secondly, someone mentioned why public kindergartens are called PAP schools in the first place? Just because the government is formed by the PAP? Once again there is an appalling lack of separation of party and government. If these kindergartens are funded by state funds, what right does the PAP have to attach them under its banner.
But then again, considering that the PAP uses HDB upgrading (funded by state funds) to coerce voters into voting for them, appropriating pre-school education shouldn’t be below them.
Thirdly, someone suggested that home-schooling might be a better alternative now. At first I thought it was brilliant idea! Just save the money and take on the responsibility of your child’s education! Boycott the entire system and it might be culled into reversing the fee hike.
But then I realised how inherently elitist this statement is. Home schooling your kid isn’t something everyone can do. You must have the time to do so in the first place. If both parents are working and trying to pay the bills, home schooling isn’t an option. Moreover, some parents might view kindergarten as a safe “child care” facility as they are out working.
Parents may also feel they are not up to the job of home schooling. Sure, it might be simple stuff at kindergarten level, but if it was really that simple, we wouldn’t need a kindergarten in the first place right? My parents’ dream (as is all parents’ dreams I believe) was for me to do well in school right from the start, and that includes kindergarten. They believe that school was a way to give me opportunities that they have never enjoyed.
It is unfair to simply say home school your kid if you aren’t happy with the fee increase. Home schooling should be a choice of the parents; it should not be forced upon people who can’t afford school.
School is a public service as much as public transport. It is equally unrealistic to say we should stop taking the train and bus to protest the rising fees. People are taking the train and bus because it’s their only option. Likewise, I’m sure every parent would want kindergarten to remain an option open to him or her.
Sharp hike in kindergarten feesFriday • April 25, 2008Alicia Wong
Some 1,500 students attending the seven PAP Community Foundation (PCF) kindergartens in Woodlands will see their fees shoot up by 30 to 100 per cent from July.
Then, about 50-odd PCF branches will raise their fees when a freeze in effect since last July comes to an end.
The PCF, which has 84 branches, each with up to eight centres, told Today "65 per cent of the branches will be adjusting their fees because operating costs have increased".
A letter sent by the PCF Woodlands branch to notify the parents of its 250 students said that PCF branches in the Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) — which comprises Sembawang, Woodlands, Marsiling, Admiralty, Canberra and Chong Pang wards — "collectively submitted our applications for a standardised GRC fee structure for approval to PCF HQ".
Woodlands kindergartens in Blk 601 and Blk 875 will hike monthly fees from $50.90 to $110 per child because they will be air-conditioned. Air-conditioned kindergartens in blocks 899B, 652 and 824 will increase fees from $86.60 to $110, while non-air-conditioned ones in blocks 624B and 853 will hike theirs from $50.90 to $95.
Nurseries run by PCF Woodlands will also see a $20 to $30 monthly fee increase from July.
PCF Woodlands' letter attributed the hikes to, among other things, rising operational costs and the need to fund training programmes for staff to meet new Ministry of Education (MOE) requirements.
Last month, the MOE raised the bar for kindergarten teachers, who will need a teaching diploma in pre-school education, not just a certificate.
Last year, the PCF froze fees and absorbed the additional 2 per cent Goods and Services Tax from July to December.
Some parents from the Woodlands kindergartens had petitioned against the hike. But PCF Woodlands administrator Amy Chia said "after much consideration", they decided to proceed with the fee adjustment, since the Government Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme is available for low-income parents.
Parent Aileen Lee, 31, who would pay $96 from July instead of $20 now, said she was "quite okay" with the hike.
Meanwhile, fees look set to go up at other kindergartens and childcare centres — if they have not already done so.
A 35-year-old accountant, whose son was enrolled at The Experiential Learning Centre last year, got a "rude shock" when the childcare centre said subsidised fees will increase from $250 to $400 per month by the year end.
Ms Kate Tan, 32, who is self-employed, said within eight months of enrolling her five-year-old son in a kindergarten at Seng Kang Methodist Church last year, fees shot up by 20 per cent to over $500 per term.
A check with four other kindergartens showed Josiah Montessori had raised its fees last year, and Kidzone Kindergarten will do so in May. One school at Jurong East is considering a hike, while Zulfa Kindergarten and Sembawang Mart will stick to its $110 fee.
"PCF school fees are reasonable and affordable … We hope parents will understand," said PCF executive Sherlene Wong.
This article comes from Today.
Several comments left on Mr Brown’s blog struck me.
Firstly, that these PAP kindergartens that are supposed to be public schools are raising their prices so dramatically parents might as well send their children to private schools.
Isn’t it the role of a public school system to provide cheap and affordable education to everyone? Isn’t it about education being the great leveler amongst the people so that regardless of your economic background you have a chance in this so-called meritocracy?
Secondly, someone mentioned why public kindergartens are called PAP schools in the first place? Just because the government is formed by the PAP? Once again there is an appalling lack of separation of party and government. If these kindergartens are funded by state funds, what right does the PAP have to attach them under its banner.
But then again, considering that the PAP uses HDB upgrading (funded by state funds) to coerce voters into voting for them, appropriating pre-school education shouldn’t be below them.
Thirdly, someone suggested that home-schooling might be a better alternative now. At first I thought it was brilliant idea! Just save the money and take on the responsibility of your child’s education! Boycott the entire system and it might be culled into reversing the fee hike.
But then I realised how inherently elitist this statement is. Home schooling your kid isn’t something everyone can do. You must have the time to do so in the first place. If both parents are working and trying to pay the bills, home schooling isn’t an option. Moreover, some parents might view kindergarten as a safe “child care” facility as they are out working.
Parents may also feel they are not up to the job of home schooling. Sure, it might be simple stuff at kindergarten level, but if it was really that simple, we wouldn’t need a kindergarten in the first place right? My parents’ dream (as is all parents’ dreams I believe) was for me to do well in school right from the start, and that includes kindergarten. They believe that school was a way to give me opportunities that they have never enjoyed.
It is unfair to simply say home school your kid if you aren’t happy with the fee increase. Home schooling should be a choice of the parents; it should not be forced upon people who can’t afford school.
School is a public service as much as public transport. It is equally unrealistic to say we should stop taking the train and bus to protest the rising fees. People are taking the train and bus because it’s their only option. Likewise, I’m sure every parent would want kindergarten to remain an option open to him or her.
posted by Eagle Eye at 7:04 PM
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