Madam Chia, 40, said: 'I wanted to send my child to a PAP Community Foundation (PCF) kindergarten, which is strong in Chinese. But I worry about the teachers' English pronunciation.'

The PCF runs 258 of the 490 pre-school centres.

Manager A. Arun, 40, who has a five-year-old son, was keen to enrol his son in a church kindergarten near their home, until he went there and read its noticeboard.

He said: 'One notice said, 'Children has to be in school at 9am.' And 'three days' appeared as 'tree days'.'

These are among the anecdotes from parents about the poor English language skills of Singapore's pre-school teachers, which has prompted the Education Ministry to act.

All pre-school teachers who scored less than a B3 grade in O-level English - and that is expected to be about two out of three - can take up a new course to shape up on the language.

The ministry has started an English communication skills course for pre-school teachers, conducted by Singapore Polytechnic and IT21, a private school.

At least 2,000 of the 3,000 pre-school teachers are expected to take up the course over the next three years. The first batch started last month.

About 90 per cent of the fees for the 40-hour course will be borne by the ministry, with teachers or pre-schools having to pay just about $50 per head.

The course is aimed at improving spoken English and to help the pre-school teachers become more confident in its use, the ministry said.

The hope is that teachers who speak better English will put their pupils on the right track too during their pre-school years.

The course covers grammar, proper pronunciation and how to use a wider vocabulary. At the end of the course, the teachers will take an oral and written test offered by the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board.

Meanwhile, pre-school teachers who are already diploma holders may enrol in an intensive English language teaching diploma course offered by the polytechnic from next year.

The ministry will subsidise up to 80 per cent of the $4,280 fee for this four-month specialist diploma course for all eligible Singaporeans.

The polytechnic and IT21 said the take-up rate for the English communication skills course has been good.

The polytechnic has 320 pre-school teachers enrolled, while 125 have started at IT21, which has some expatriates teaching the course, including former television newscaster Duncan Watt.

Parents raised the issue of pre-school English last year when a review committee recommended English improvement courses for trainee primary and secondary school teachers.

Several parents saw an urgent need at the pre-school level too, saying this was where children received their foundation in the language.

It was only from 2001 that kindergarten teachers who teach English were required to have a pass in O-level English, or a minimum score of 5.5 in the International English Language Testing System exam, which indicates a modest to competent speaker.

Parents with pre-schoolers welcomed the ministry's initiative. Madam Chia said she was 'relieved that, at last, there is such a course'. 'I will now seriously consider a PCF centre if it can deliver on proper English as well.'

sandra@sph.com.sg