2025年1月8日，新加坡社會及家庭發展部長馬善高在國會書面答覆盛港集選區議員林志蔚先生有關為距離兒童保育中心一公里以內的家庭優先提供託兒名額問題的口頭詢問時透露，全日制學前教育學額已超過 20 萬個，足以滿足全國和規劃區的需求。
以下內容為新加坡眼根據國會英文資料翻譯整理：
林志蔚（盛港集選區議員）副教授詢問社會和家庭發展部部長：
(a) 兒童早期發展機構在兒童保育中心達到最大容量時，是否會考慮家庭與兒童保育中心之間的距離，例如一公里半徑範圍內的距離，以便優先安排兒童保育名額？
(b) 如果不考慮，原因是什麼？
馬善高（社會及家庭發展部長）：幼兒培育署（ECDA）計劃提供學前教育名額，以滿足預期的入學需求。該署考慮了各種因素，包括人口發展趨勢、預計居民出生率、入學模式以及每個規劃區內學前教育學位的供應情況。從 2018 年到 2024 年，我們增加了4萬多個全日制學前教育學額，增幅達 25%。如今，全日制學前教育學額已超過 20 萬個，足以滿足全國和規劃區的需求。
然而，由於家長的偏好不同，以及建立新中心或擴大現有中心所需的籌備時間不同，少數地區可能出現供不應求的情況。幼兒培育署局優先在這些地區擴大服務能力。
學前教育機構，包括 「主要業者 」和 「夥伴業者 」計劃下的學前教育機構，一般按照 「先到先得 」的原則管理招生工作。當學前教育機構的容量接近上限時，運營機構會考慮各種因素，如兒童是否有兄弟姐妹已在該中心註冊，以及兒童住所到學前教育機構的距離等，優先考慮新的註冊人數。
幼兒培育署還鼓勵家長擴大選擇範圍，考慮鄰近社區、工作場所或祖父母家附近有空餘學額的中心。為更好地協助家長開展這項工作，幼兒培育署在 SG生活助手（LIFESG）上設計了新的學前教育搜索功能，家長可通過該功能查找特定地區有空餘學額的學前教育機構，並直接與學前教育機構聯繫入學事宜。
以下是英文質詢內容：
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Early Childhood Development Agency takes into consideration the distance between the home and childcare centre, such as within a one kilometre radius, for the prioritisation of childcare slots in the event that a childcare centre reaches maximum capacity; and (b) if not, why not.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) plans for preschool places to meet anticipated enrolment demand. It considers various factors including demographic trends, projected resident birth rates, enrolment patterns and availability of preschool places within each Planning Area. From 2018 to 2024, we have added more than 40,000 full-day preschool places, or a 25% increase. Today, there are over 200,000 full-day preschool places, which is more than sufficient to meet demand at both the national and Planning Area levels.
Nevertheless, demand can exceed supply in a small number of districts due to varying parental preferences and the lead-time needed to set up new centres or expand existing centres. ECDA prioritises the expansion of capacity in such districts.
Preschool operators, including those under the Anchor Operator and Partner Operator schemes, generally manage enrolment on a first-come, first-served basis. When a preschool approaches its maximum capacity, the operator will prioritise new enrolment by considering factors, such as whether the child has a sibling already enrolled in the centre and the distance from the child's home to the preschool.
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{nextpage}ECDA also encourages parents to broaden their choices by considering centres with available vacancies in adjacent neighbourhoods, near their workplaces or the grandparents' homes. To better assist parents in this effort, ECDA has designed a new preschool search function on LifeSG, which allows parents to look for preschools with available vacancy in a given locale and directly liaise with preschools on enrolment matters.
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