10年涨了3倍！新加坡政府对每位幼儿的教育支出已达11200新币

新加坡社会及家庭发展部长马善高在国会书面答复碧山—大巴窑选区议员安迪，关于私立幼儿园与政府支持的幼儿园收费差异的问题。

以下内容为新加坡眼根据国会英文资料翻译整理：

安迪（碧山—大巴窑集选区议员）先生询问社会及家庭发展部长：

(a) 目前政府支持的幼儿园和私立幼儿园向每名儿童收取的平均月费是多少？

(b) 政府支持的幼儿园和私立幼儿园对每名儿童获得的政府资助金额有何差异？

(c) 如何确保政府支持的幼儿园和私立幼儿园的教师和课程质量保持一致？

马善高（社会及家庭发展部长）先生：政府在幼儿教育领域投入了大量资金，为每个孩子的人生提供一个良好的开端。在过去10年里，政府对每名学龄前儿童的平均支出增加了三倍多，从2014年的3500新元增加到2023年的11200新元，其中用于政府支持的学龄前儿童和低收入家庭儿童的支出更高。我们的支出主要用于为所有新加坡儿童提供学前教育补贴、部门人力措施以及为政府支持的幼儿园提供资金等措施。

我们还为主要业者和伙伴业者(AOP 和 POP)提供额外资金，使更多人有机会接受价格合理、质量上乘的学前教育。AOPs 和 POPs 必须满足质量要求，如获得新加坡学前教育认证框架（SPARK）认证、提高教育工作者的工资并支持他们的继续专业发展。我们的资助还使AOP和POP的月费不超过上限，目前全日制托儿所的月费上限分别为680 新元和720 新元。相比之下，2023年非政府支持的幼儿园的全日制托儿保费用中位数为 1,400 新元。我们正在增加政府支持的幼儿园名额，以便到2025年左右，80%的学龄前儿童都能在政府支持的幼儿园就读，让更多家庭从这些较低的收费中受益。

我们还投入了大量资金来提高幼儿教育部门的质量，通过让政府和非政府支持的幼儿园都受益的举措。国立幼教学院（The National Institute of Early Childhood Development）于 2019 年成立，为该行业提供培训和专业发展。幼儿培育署（The Early Childhood Development Agency）和教育部（MOE）最近还更新了我们的国家学习和发展框架，以指导所有幼儿园的教学方法和实践，为儿童提供优质的保育、教学和学习服务。此外，“幼儿技能框架”和“领导力发展框架”等资源还可以指导该行业的所有教育工作者和领导者发展其工作角色所需的相关技能和能力。

以下是英文质询内容：

Mr Saktiandi Supaatasked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the average monthly fee per child presently charged by (i) Government-supported preschools and (ii) private preschools; (b) what is the difference in the amount of Government funding per child received by (i) Government-supported pre-schools and (ii) private pre-schools; and (c) how does the Ministry ensure a consistent quality of teachers and programmes across Government-supported preschools and private preschools.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M:The Government has invested significantly in the early childhood sector to give every child a good start in life. The average Government expenditure per preschool-aged child has increased by more than three times over the past 10 years, from $3,500 in 2014 to $11,200 in 2023, with a higher amount spent on children in government-supported preschools and children from lower-income families. Our expenditure is channelled towards measures such as preschool subsidies for all Singaporean children, sector-wide manpower measures and funding for government-supported preschools.

We provide additional funding to Anchor and Partner Operators (AOPs and POPs) to increase access to affordable and quality preschools. AOPs and POPs are subject to quality requirements such as achieving the Singapore Preschool Accreditation Framework (SPARK) certification, raising educators’ salaries and supporting their continuing professional development. Our funding also enables AOPs and POPs to keep within monthly fee caps, which are currently set at $680 and $720 respectively for full-day childcare. In comparison, the median monthly full-day childcare fee for non-government-supported preschools was $1,400 in 2023. We are increasing the number of government-supported preschool places so that 80% of preschoolers can have a place in a government-supported preschool by around 2025, to allow more families to benefit from these lower fees.

We have also dedicated significant funding to raising the quality of the early childhood sector, through initiatives which benefit both government- and non-government-supported preschools. The National Institute of Early Childhood Development was set up in 2019 to provide training and professional development for the sector. The Early Childhood Development Agency and Ministry of Education have also recently updated our national learning and development frameworks to guide all preschools in their pedagogical approaches and practices to provide quality care, teaching and learning for children. Additionally, resources such as the Skills Framework for Early Childhood and Leadership Development Framework guide all educators and leaders in the sector to develop the relevant skills and competencies required for their job roles.