Sir, Ms Loy Wee Mee runs Pre-School By the Park in my ward. ECDA awarded her programme "Make Believe" twice — the Innovation Award in 2023, the Teaching and Learning Award in 2024.[2] NIEC featured her on their podcast as the expert voice on play-based learning.[1]
In January this year, her Li Hwan centre announced closure.[3] Fifty-two parents rallied to save it. Two of them, Nicole and Jasmine, believed enough in the school to take it over themselves. We wish them the best.
But the structural challenge remains. Full-day fees are $1,655 a month — because the centre receives no government funding. The Partner Operator centre nearby charges $650.[4] That is a thousand-dollar gap. Passion alone cannot close it.
Sir, this gap is not market-created. It is policy-created. When 80% of the market is priced at $610 to $650 through government subsidy, that becomes what preschool should cost. Parents are not choosing AOP pedagogy over play-based learning. They are choosing AOP prices. At a thousand-dollar differential, there is no real choice to make.
The squeeze is also on the labour side. AOP and POP salary targets, funded by subsidy, become the de facto wage benchmark for the entire sector. Independent operators must match or lose teachers — not to better pedagogy, but to better-subsidised pay. Every time salary targets rise, independent costs rise with them. But revenue does not. The 20% is expected to innovate. With what?
The end state is a sector with two tiers and nothing in between. Mass-market government preschools on one side. Ultra-premium international schools on the other. The mid-tier — where Montessori, Reggio, play-based, and inclusive programmes for children with diverse needs actually live — is collapsing. Middle-class families lose meaningful choice.
Progress is had, when what was once a boutique pedagogy becomes the base we build for the next generation.
Malaysia is doing this. In December 2025, its government revamped the national preschool curriculum to prioritise play-based, child-centred learning.[8] In April, KL will host the World Forum on Early Care and Education — five hundred participants from over forty countries.[14] Malaysian educators invite Singapore operators to speak at their forums on play- and project-based learning.[13] They plan study tours here. Their government is actively driving these reforms.
Our neighbours are investing in what our funding model is making unviable. If they are right about early childhood — and I believe they are — a pedagogy gap will open across the Causeway, as we drive out the very educators they want to learn from.
I have two asks. First, fund the child, not the school. If a child's subsidy follows the child to any licensed, quality-assured centre, parents — all parents — can choose the pedagogy the Government's own agencies say works. When the gap is $80, parents can weigh the differences.
Second, operator-independent teacher funding. If a teacher is L2-certified, why should their salary support depend on which operator they work at?
The expertise is here. Our own agencies agree the pedagogy works. What is missing is a funding structure that lets parents act on that agreement. I ask that we let parents choose.
Footnotes
[1]: NIEC Podcast: Playing to Our Children's Strengths Ep 1 — Ms Loy Wee Mee (28 Jan 2025). NIEC invited Wee Mee as expert voice on play-based learning.
[2]: ECDA awards to Pre-School By the Park — Innovation Award 2023, Teaching and Learning Award 2024. Confirmed by Wee Mee (16 Feb 2026) and ST 27 Jan 2026.
[3]: Straits Times: Parents rally to save beloved Serangoon pre-school from closing (27 Jan 2026) — 52 parents; fees $1,655.
[4]: ECDA Partner Operator Programme — POP $650/month, AOP $610/month, from Jan 2026.
[8]: Malay Mail: MOE's revamped 2026 preschool curriculum puts children first (1 Dec 2025) — Nooraini Kamaruddin quote.
[13]: Kiddy123: Project-Based Learning and the Future of Malaysia — Forum "Be the Change," 14 Nov 2025, SEGi College, Subang Jaya. SG speakers included.
[14]: World Forum on Early Care and Education, Kuala Lumpur, 14–17 April 2026. 500+ participants, 40+ countries. worldforumfoundation.org/kuala-lumpur-event/
