Fees at Kindle Garden, touted as the first inclusive pre-school here, will jump next year to up to twice the current amount, just two years after the opening of the centre. The centre will also adopt a tiered-fee model, with low-income families charged less.
Kindle Garden told parents last week that it would raise fees from $980 to $1,880 a month for full-day childcare from January next year. This is before factoring in the goods and services tax, and subsidies from charity AWWA, which runs the centre, and the Government.
Depending on their incomes, parents could receive Awwa subsidies of up to $900, the Government’s basic subsidy of $300 for working mothers, and the Government’s additional subsidies of up to $440.
The centre has 83 children enrolled, of whom 30 per cent have special needs and learn alongside other children. Its staff include therapists and psychologists. It has a grant from the Lien Foundation, a philanthropic house.
In a letter to parents, the centre said that when it was piloted, the Lien Foundation grant of $3.6 million helped to cover resources and operating costs, and fees were heavily subsidized. Now, post-pilot, with all the funds used up, Kindle Garden will be revising fees according to their operating costs.
Meanwhile, Awwa hopes its tiered-fee model will allow children from low-income families to still benefit from its services. Different amounts of Awwa subsidies are given to families, based on which of the six income tiers they are in.
The Early Childhood Development Agency, which oversees the pre-school sector, said it knew about the fee increase but it does not regulate fees charged.
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Source: The Straits Times, 1 August 2017