IT WAS bad news for many parents when we received a letter from the PAP Community Foundation (PCF) informing us about the increase of fees for its kindergartens.

The new fees, to be effective from July 1, will be $95 a month - nearly double the current charge of $50.60. In 2006, we paid only $30.50 a month.

According to a report in Shin Min Daily News last week, some parents had requested the kindergarten classrooms to be air-conditioned. We cannot understand why this must be so.

Air-conditioning should not apply to all PCF kindergartens in Woodlands - where we live - so that we can choose whether to send our children to an air-conditioned one or otherwise.

As far as I know, many parents, including myself, do not wish to have our children studying in air-conditioned classrooms. They fall ill more frequently and it is not good for their health.

We also worry that children who are used to air-conditioned environments may have difficulty getting used to the non-air-conditioned classrooms when they go to primary school.

We would prefer the kindergartens not to be fully air-conditioned in order to save on operation costs.

The rising prices of other daily necessities such as food and electricity are already a growing burden for many households.

We hope that the kindergartens would review the fee hike, so that all families can afford to send their children to school.

Mdm Sim Hwei Hsia