Reasons for Singapore’s low preschool education ranking

The leaders and the trailers

European countries snapped up all, but four of the top twenty positions, with Finland, Sweden and Norway taking up the top three spots. Singapore took the 29th slot, just under Australia, Greece and Canada. India, Indonesia and the Philippines took the last three spots. The consensus is that European countries offer the most affordable and high-quality preschool programmes in the world.

The rankings were based on four index categories: Availability, Affordability, Quality and Context and when the data was compiled and analyzed, there were several key findings that were made.

Firstly, many high-income countries ranked poorly despite wealth being a major factor in a country’s ability to deliver preschool services. The casualties included Canada, Singapore and the US, which were all listed in the lower half of the index, despite their high average per capita incomes.

Another key finding revealed that ensuring a high standard of teacher training and education, setting clear curriculum guidelines, and ensuring parental involvement are some of the main drivers of preschool education quality.

Where Singapore lacks

In the study, Singapore’s performance for the categories of ‘affordability’ and ‘avaliablity’ ranked a very average 21st and 25th position respectively. In the area of ‘quality’, it ranked a lowly 30th. On brighter note, Singapore did well in the provision of curriculum guidelines and providing targeted subsidies for underprivileged families. Singapore also has high levels of preschool enrollment.

1. Quality of education

A key area that Singapore could improve on is the teacher-student ratio which was pegged at 1:20. In comparison, the top ten countries on the index have ratios ranging from  1:5 to 1:11.

The quality of Singapore’s preschool education is also under scrutiny when compared with the highly rated Nordic countries. Singapore’s preschool teachers need at least five O-level credits and a diploma in preschool education. The industry is also suffering from both a lack of teachers and a high turnover rate. In Finland, the contrast is stark.  All teachers have master’s degrees in education and teaching is one of the most highly regarded careers in the country. This difference led Director of Preschool for Multiple Intelligences Dr Khoo Kim Choo to suggest that Singapore could "attract and retain more good preschool teachers with better incentives, including better pay". The average pay for a preschool teacher in Singapore is SGD 1,400 to SGD 1,600. The median pay in Singapore is SGD 3,000. Preschool teachers are only getting half of this!

2. Weak link between K2 and P1

It was noted that Singapore had a weak link between preschools and primary schools due to a heavily market-led provision for preschool education. Dr Khoo suggested that "Kindergarten 2 could come under the Ministry of Education’s wing as pre-primary classes. This will not only ensure a smoother transition to Primary 1, but most importantly, it will ensure a high standard of quality programmes that all children across the nation, regardless of income, can afford and have access to."

3. Lack of parental involvement

President of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association Professor Christine Pascal emphasized that Singapore was lacking in parental involvement and support in preschool education. Countries like the UK and Belgium, ranked fourth and fifth respectively, have recognized that parents are the vital link between classroom learning and learning that continues at home. These nations have given parents extensive support.

Singapore could do well to increase parental involvement by developing strategies to facilitate more interactions between parents and children when they are at home. Pascal urged that parents need to be aware of their critical role in supporting their child’s development and the importance of providing rich, play-based experiences at home."

Points of contention

Mr Lee remarked that "If there is a weak link in our national education system, the preschool phase would be it". But the question that remains unanswered is the extent of an impact preschool education has on a child’s overall development. Singapore’s primary, secondary and tertiary education have been commended around the globe and indeed Singapore’s competitive system has shined in international education rankings for years. It could be argued that preschool is but a small, relatively insignificant component in the huge machinery of Singapore’s education system.

Furthermore, in comparing the various differences between the preschool systems of the Nordic countries with the one in Singapore, it appears that the issues are deep-set. For instance, preschool education in Finland is a lauded profession with a high pay. Moreover, local government units are obligated by law to provide heavily subsidized places in kindergartens or childcare programs.

So, in order for Singapore’s preschool education system to mimic that of Finland, there needs to be an overhaul of the system to change a market-led preschool industry to a government controlled one. Society too has to change its mindset with regards to the status of a teaching profession, in order for the industry to attract more talented individuals. Government policies also have to be altered to the point that laws, such as those in Finland, could be implemented towards a child’s ‘right to child care’ to ensure greater availability of preschools.

Ultimately, Singapore has to make drastic changes if it wishes to boost its preschool education rankings, but the question must be asked: Is it really necessary to make great changes for an arguably small part of Singapore’s education system? According to what we learnt from the Economist Intelligence Units analysis and arguments, we definitely believe so.