SINGAPORE: People’s Action Party Members of Parliament on Thursday called on the Government to strengthen social safety nets by"socialising" pre-school education and increasing support for vulnerable families.
“While the vast majority of each cohort has attended pre-school prior to Primary 1, there is nonetheless a group of children whose attendance is irregular in pre-school and a few who have not even enrolled in childcare or pre-school,” she said. “Taken together, this sends a strong signal that the Government prioritises the early learning years and wants to give every child a good starting point from which they can chart their future paths.”Besides financial help, Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim said vulnerable families should also get more help to ease their “mental and emotional strain”.
“The broader point I am making is this - we need to see beyond the lens of the beneficiary or recipient,” he said. “We need to look at it from the perspective of the provider also.”Fellow new MP Nadia Ahmad Samdin asked if the Government could consider introducing a fixed rental fee for a longer period of time to allow vulnerable families to build up their savings for"rainier days". Rental fees are currently pegged to household income.