Singapore

The preschool education provided in kindergarten classes, daytime nurseries, and children's centers, falls outside the regular system of education and, therefore, does not come under the purview of the Ministry of Education. However, that ministry provides strict and clear "guidelines" for the curriculum and management of the kindergartens.

Another wing of the government, namely, the Ministry of Community Development (MCD) is responsible for the administration of the child-care centers. Given an annual birthrate of about 50,000, the total number of children below six requiring childcare facilities and/or preschool education may be estimated at about 300,000. In 2000, there were childcare facilities under the MCD, some of them conveniently located close to the industrial plants or major workplaces making it possible for young mothers to work on a full-time basis.

Compared to childcare centers, kindergartens are run mostly by private agencies charging fairly high fees. Singaporean parents, though, are aware of the importance of such regular preschool education and almost all the children in Singapore go through one to three years of preschool education in either private kindergartens or the MCD's childcare centers. The part-time and full-time childcare centers are subsidized by the state.

Over the years, notably in the 1990s, there have been efforts to "streamline" preschool education and bring it under increased supervision by the Ministry of Education (MOE). In collaboration with the National Institute of Education (NIE), MOE, and MCD have instituted programs at the NIE for the training of teachers and supervisors for the childcare centers and kindergartens. NIE offers the Basic or Intermediate Certificates for teachers and the Advanced Certificate in Early Childhood Education for administrators. Besides this, the NIE trains senior teachers who, in turn, train junior teachers on site at the childcare centers.

The primary aim of preschool education is to prepare children for the formal education of primary school. The other goals include development of social skills and easier transition of infants from the sheltered home environment to a semiformal setting. The childcare centers teach children in two languages, the mother tongue and English. Parents, therefore, choose a pre-education facility that offers their home language, whether Chinese, Malay, or Tamil. Besides languages, the centers have multiple activities including story telling, music, physical education, and outdoor games.

In 1996, there were 198 primary schools with a total enrollment of 269,688 students and 10,163 teachers. Of these, 151 schools (with 196,438 students and 7,790 teachers) were run by the government. Forty-six were government-aided, with an enrollment of 73,152 students and 2,373 teachers. There was 1 private school with 98 students. The teacher-student ratio at the primary level stood at 1:27 in 1996.