I REFER to the letters, 'Ministry urges restraint' and 'Better quality not a given: Operator' (Sept 24).

The Education Services Union (ESU) welcomes the Government's initiatives to upgrade the quality of pre-school education in Singapore. These efforts will enhance the quality of teachers and benefit children, providing them with a more concrete foundation in learning.

Therefore, there is a need to study how to retain talented teachers in this industry. Currently, the heavy workload of pre-school teachers is not commensurate with the low salary, leading to a constant turnover of staff within and out of the industry.

However, we believe this situation will change due to the following factors:

• Increase in demand for teachers, especially over the next one to two years. With the increase in childcare subsidies, we expect more parents to enrol their children in childcare centres. As it takes time to train teachers, we see a potential shortage in the supply of qualified teachers in the short run. Operators are therefore likely to offer higher salaries to attract trained teachers.

• Government regulations require more teachers to be better qualified (75 per cent to hold diplomas). Therefore, salaries will rise to match their higher qualifications.

Manpower forms the bulk of cost in childcare operations. Centres have to review fees on a more regular basis, so as to continue to provide quality education. If the centres have to increase teachers' salaries due to higher qualifications, it is fair for the centres to adjust their fees accordingly.

To increase the supply of childcare teachers, the National Trades Union Congress has in place various initiatives to increase the number of qualified teachers in the workforce. ESU would like to encourage similar proactive initiatives to meet the need for qualified teachers at childcare centres and kindergartens island-wide. To attract and retain talent, ESU is also working with employers to ensure that salaries of teachers in the pre-school sector rise in tandem with qualifications.

Without a growing workforce of better qualified teachers with fair pay, it will be hard for Singapore to set up another 200 new childcare centres and provide more childcare support to working families. Therefore, it is important to strike a balance between the quality of childcare services and the fees payable.

Zainudin Nordin
Executive Secretary
Education Services Union

This letter was first published in The Straits Times on Oct 3, 2008.

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