2025年1月8日，新加坡社会及家庭发展部长马善高在国会书面答复盛港集选区议员林志蔚先生有关为距离儿童保育中心一公里以内的家庭优先提供托儿名额问题的口头询问时透露，全日制学前教育学额已超过 20 万个，足以满足全国和规划区的需求。
以下内容为新加坡眼根据国会英文资料翻译整理：
林志蔚（盛港集选区议员）副教授询问社会和家庭发展部部长：
(a) 儿童早期发展机构在儿童保育中心达到最大容量时，是否会考虑家庭与儿童保育中心之间的距离，例如一公里半径范围内的距离，以便优先安排儿童保育名额？
(b) 如果不考虑，原因是什么？
马善高（社会及家庭发展部长）：幼儿培育署（ECDA）计划提供学前教育名额，以满足预期的入学需求。该署考虑了各种因素，包括人口发展趋势、预计居民出生率、入学模式以及每个规划区内学前教育学位的供应情况。从 2018 年到 2024 年，我们增加了4万多个全日制学前教育学额，增幅达 25%。如今，全日制学前教育学额已超过 20 万个，足以满足全国和规划区的需求。
然而，由于家长的偏好不同，以及建立新中心或扩大现有中心所需的筹备时间不同，少数地区可能出现供不应求的情况。幼儿培育署局优先在这些地区扩大服务能力。
学前教育机构，包括 “主要业者 ”和 “伙伴业者 ”计划下的学前教育机构，一般按照 “先到先得 ”的原则管理招生工作。当学前教育机构的容量接近上限时，运营机构会考虑各种因素，如儿童是否有兄弟姐妹已在该中心注册，以及儿童住所到学前教育机构的距离等，优先考虑新的注册人数。
幼儿培育署还鼓励家长扩大选择范围，考虑邻近社区、工作场所或祖父母家附近有空余学额的中心。为更好地协助家长开展这项工作，幼儿培育署在 SG生活助手（LIFESG）上设计了新的学前教育搜索功能，家长可通过该功能查找特定地区有空余学额的学前教育机构，并直接与学前教育机构联系入学事宜。
以下是英文质询内容：
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Early Childhood Development Agency takes into consideration the distance between the home and childcare centre, such as within a one kilometre radius, for the prioritisation of childcare slots in the event that a childcare centre reaches maximum capacity; and (b) if not, why not.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) plans for preschool places to meet anticipated enrolment demand. It considers various factors including demographic trends, projected resident birth rates, enrolment patterns and availability of preschool places within each Planning Area. From 2018 to 2024, we have added more than 40,000 full-day preschool places, or a 25% increase. Today, there are over 200,000 full-day preschool places, which is more than sufficient to meet demand at both the national and Planning Area levels.
Nevertheless, demand can exceed supply in a small number of districts due to varying parental preferences and the lead-time needed to set up new centres or expand existing centres. ECDA prioritises the expansion of capacity in such districts.
Preschool operators, including those under the Anchor Operator and Partner Operator schemes, generally manage enrolment on a first-come, first-served basis. When a preschool approaches its maximum capacity, the operator will prioritise new enrolment by considering factors, such as whether the child has a sibling already enrolled in the centre and the distance from the child's home to the preschool.
ECDA also encourages parents to broaden their choices by considering centres with available vacancies in adjacent neighbourhoods, near their workplaces or the grandparents' homes. To better assist parents in this effort, ECDA has designed a new preschool search function on LifeSG, which allows parents to look for preschools with available vacancy in a given locale and directly liaise with preschools on enrolment matters.
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