SINGAPORE - Parents who wish to enrol their children in a Ministry of Education (MOE) kindergarten in 2020 will be able to register online, and need not submit registration forms and supporting documents in person.

In a press statement on Tuesday (Jan 15), the ministry said the online registration process is to "provide greater convenience and accessibility for parents".

The 2019 MOE Kindergarten registration exercise, for K1 admission in Jan 2020, will open from 9am on Feb 8 till 4pm on Feb 11.

Parents will be informed of the outcome by April 10.

There are currently 23 MOE kindergartens. Another six will open next year, which means a total of 29 MOE kindergartens will be participating in the registration exercise this year. The ministry plans to run a total of 50 such centres by 2023.

MOE also announced changes to the admissions framework.

Top priority for admissions will now go to Singaporean children from lower-income households living within 1km of the MOE kindergarten.

Children with siblings in K1 to Primary 6 in the MOE kindergarten or primary school it is co-located in will be given second priority.

Previously, top priority was given to children with siblings in the MOE kindergarten in K1, while second priority was given to children from lower-income households.

MOE kindergartens were first set up in 2014 to provide affordable pre-school education and raise the quality of early childhood education here.

A third of the spaces at MOE kindergartens are allocated to Singaporean children from lower-income households living within 1km of the MOE kindergarten.