Increased pre-school expenses contribute to higher education spending among S’pore families
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The latest Household Expenditure Survey found that annual spending on pre-primary education was $1.3 billion in 2023, up from $1 billion in 2018.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
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SINGAPORE – Families in Singapore are spending more on pre-school education, as more parents are placing their children in childcare at a younger age.
The latest Household Expenditure Survey found that annual spending on pre-primary education among resident families – Singaporeans and permanent residents – was $1.3 billion in 2023, up from $1 billion in 2018.
Overall, the survey found that the average monthly spending on education has increased over the same period from $374 to $404.20 in 2023.
This was largely driven by tuition and pre-school expenses.
The figures were released in December 2024 by the Singapore Department of Statistics, which collected data from 13,100 households between December 2022 and December 2023.
The survey gathers information on the expenditure, savings and incomes of households in Singapore, and is conducted every five years.
Figures from the Early Childhood Development Agency as at October 2023 show that more children are attending pre-school.
The number of those in infant care almost doubled from 5,364 in 2018 to 10,485 in 2023. Infant care is for children between two and 18 months old.
Enrolment for childcare also grew from 118,296 to 152,634 over the same period.
The Government has taken steps to keep early childhood education affordable, such as imposing fee caps on pre-school operators that receive subsidies, and expanding the number of government-supported pre-schools.
From Jan 1, 2025, fee caps for full-day childcare dropped further from $680 to $640 per month for anchor operator-run pre-schools, and from $720 to $680 for partner operator pre-schools.
Anchor and partner operators receive government funding to keep their fees low. They have to adhere to fee caps.
From February, Ms Hema Padmanathan, 37, will spend $2,550 monthly on pre-school services for both her children, after subsidies.
Her daughter’s childcare fees are $1,700, and infant care for her son will cost $850.
Her five-year-old daughter Syvitha is enrolled in the Kindergarten 1 childcare programme at Shaws Preschool, while her nine-month-old son Syddartha will begin infant care at NurtureStars Preschool.
Ms Hema Padmanathan and her husband, Mr Daryl Cheng, will spend $2,550 monthly on pre-school services for their children.
PHOTO: HEMA PADMANATHAN
Ms Hema, a teacher, and her husband, Mr Daryl Cheng, 38, a florist, work full time and do not have a domestic helper to look after their children.
They recently transferred their daughter from another centre, as they wanted a pre-school with a wider range of physical and enrichment activities.
Their daughter’s current pre-school offers a sports programme where the children try a different sport every term, and has enrichment activities like chess, art and robotics.
The centre’s fees have been increasing every year but Ms Hema does not mind, as she and her husband do not have the time to take her to sports or enrichment activities as frequently as they would like.
“There are more affordable options, but I chose this option specifically because I like the programme.”
Elisha Tushara is a correspondent at The Straits Times, specialising in Singapore’s education landscape.
Correction note: This story has been edited for clarity.
