S’pore scores low preschool education by BRANDON

A new study by the Economist Intelligence Unit on international early childhood education ranks the nation-state just 29th out of some 45 countries across the globe. Topping the list were Nordic countries such as Finland, Sweden and Norway, as well as the U.K. and Belgium, which took the first five spots respectively. Ranked at the bottom five were Asian and Southeast Asian countries including Singapore, coming in 30th out of 45. Aspects affecting quality included student-teacher ratio, average preschool teacher wages, preschool teacher training and linkages between preschool and primary school.

After reading this article, i felt that the government in Singapore have yet to focus on Preschool education. Even up till today, Preschool education for children from ages 3-6, are not even compulsory.  Otherwise, primary education in Singapore, normally starting at age seven, is a four-year foundation stage (Primary 1 to 4) and a two-year orientation stage (Primary 5 to 6), is compulsory under the Compulsory Education Act since 2003.