More childcare centres to open in Sengkang, Punggol
Parents of young children in Sengkang and Punggol can look forward to 2,600 more pre-school places by 2020, with five new large childcare centres being planned in the two estates.
Four of the five centres, with about 300 to 550 places each, will be in Sengkang, and another centre with 650 places will be developed in Punggol.
These centres will be run by anchor operators appointed by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA).
The news was announced by Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee at the official opening of Skool4Kidz's large childcare centre at Sengkang Riverside Park yesterday.
The childcare centre, which can take in about 460 pupils, is one of nine large childcare centres already operational here.
These centres have intakes three to five times bigger than centres at Housing Board void decks. They are set up in areas of high localised pre-school demand, like in estates with many young families, according to the ECDA.
Checks by The Straits Times found that Sengkang and Punggol estates have the highest number of young residents aged four and below here.
According to Department of Statistics records, Sengkang had 17,660 of them as of June last year.Punggol had 15,970 young residents.
Mr Lee said the large childcare centres are part of the Government's commitment to ensure that all parents who need pre-school places for their children can get one.
Parents can expect 40,000 more pre-school places over the next five years, he said.
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