【国会发言】新加坡教育部长陈振声：幼儿园教育还没有纳入义务教育体系

(a) 政府是否会考虑将幼儿园教育变为义务教育？

(b) 如果会，将其纳入正规教育体系将考虑哪些因素？

陈振声（教育部长）先生：为了让我们的孩子有一个良好的起步，政府在过去十年中对学前教育进行了大量投资。学前教育入学率也有所提高，目前，95% 的5至6岁新加坡儿童都在学前教育就读，现有学位能够满足每个孩子的需求。

政府并没有选择强制推行幼儿园义务教育，而是通过确保提供负担得起的优质学前教育，如政府支持的学前教育机构，来消除学前教育入学障碍。如今，超过65%的学龄前儿童就读于政府支持的学前教育机构，而2019年这一比例仅略高于一半。我们将继续增加学前教育名额，到2025年左右，80% 的学龄前儿童能够进入政府支持的幼儿园。

我们还向低收入家庭提供有针对性的援助，以解决他们在为孩子入读幼儿园和确保他们定期上学方面面临的实际挑战。低收入家庭的儿童在入读教育部幼儿园 (MK) 和主要业者幼儿园 (AOP) 时享有优先权。在获得政府补贴后，低收入家庭每月仅需支付1新元，即可在教育部幼儿园和主要业者幼儿园入读半日制幼儿园。

由于幼儿园教育价格实惠，所有新加坡人都可以接受，因此我们目前没有计划将其纳入义务教育。

 Ms Mariam Jaafar asked the Minister for Education (a) whether the Government will consider making kindergarten education compulsory; and (b) if so, what will be the factors taken into consideration for it to be integrated into the formal education system.

Mr Chan Chun Sing: To enable our children to have a good start, the Government has invested significantly in preschool education over the last decade. Preschool enrolment has also grown and 95% of Singaporean children aged five to six years are now enrolled in preschool. There are sufficient places for every child.

Rather than impose compulsory kindergarten education, the Government’s approach has been to remove impediments to preschool enrolment by ensuring access to affordable and quality preschools, such as in Government-supported preschools. Today, over 65% of preschoolers are in Government-supported preschools, up from just over half in 2019. We will continue to increase spaces so that 80% of preschoolers can have a place in a Government-supported preschool by around 2025.

We also provide targeted assistance to lower-income families to address practical challenges in enrolling their children in preschool and ensuring their regular attendance. Children from lower-income families are accorded priority when enrolling in MOE Kindergartens (MKs) and Anchor Operator (AOP) preschools. After Government subsidies, low-income families may pay as low as $1 per month for half-day kindergarten in MKs and AOP preschools.

As kindergarten education is affordable and accessible to all Singaporeans, we have no plans to make it compulsory at the moment.