By Theresa Tan

THE Education Ministry (MOE) is stepping up its push to get more children into pre-school and its latest move is to get social workers to persuade families facing 'complex difficulties' to send their offspring to kindergarten or childcare centres.

In a pilot project, which started about two weeks ago, the Singapore Children's Society, is doing all it can to get children from 60 families into pre-school.

Ms Sue Cheng, the society's director of research and outreach, said poverty and pressing survival issues are key reasons why pre-school education is not a priority for these families.

Some of them have no roof over their heads, live with their friends and relatives, and often move from house to house like nomads, she said.

Other families have many mouths to feed and cannot make ends meet.

She said: 'Their parents feel that they have to settle the bread and butter issues first, before they can think of their children's education.'

Logistics can be another hurdle.

The nearest kindergarten may be too far away, or the mum may not be able to take the child to pre-school if she has to care for younger children at home, Ms Cheng said.

But social workers are now aiming to deal with every obstacle to help place children in pre-schools.

If money is a problem, they will apply for financial aid schemes; if the father needs a job, they will refer him to the Community Development Councils to help him in his job search.

She added: 'For families whom we think can't manage, or who don't even know how to fill in a registration form, we will hand-hold and accompany them to register their child for pre-school.'

Since 2007, MOE and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) have brought in grassroots groups to do what it calls pre-school outreach.

For example, grassroots leaders like Robert Tay visit families whose children are not enrolled in pre-school and talk to them about how their child can benefit from such education.

Mr Tay, 41, said some of these families keep their children at home to educate them. Others, struggling even to put food on the table, fail to see its importance.

The joint effort by MOE, MCYS and grassroots groups has reduced the percentage of children without any pre-school education entering Primary1 from 4.2per cent at the start of 2007 to 2.5per cent at the end of last year.

Last year, about 870 children missed out on pre-school, down from about 1,600 at the start of the previous year.

And with MOE now referring families with more 'complex difficulties' to the Children's Society, it is hoped that fewer children will miss pre-school.

Unlike primary school education - whereby all children born after Jan1, 1996, are required to have at least six years of schooling - pre-school is not compulsory.

But for years, Members of Parliament, parents and educators have been urging MOE to do more to give children from poor families a shot at pre-school.

They argue that pre-school is critical for strengthening not only a child's intellectual development, but also his personal development before he steps into a Primary1 classroom.

Said Ms Cheng: 'Children who don't go to school from young may see staying at home, doing nothing, or roaming around, as a way of life. They may resist going to school later as school involves exams and discipline.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.