Factsheet on Expanding Access to Affordable, Quality Preschools
28 Aug 2026
As announced by Prime Minister at the National Day Rally, the Government will further strengthen support for families by making preschool more affordable and accessible. Over the next few years, preschool fees will be significantly lowered, and the network of government-supported preschools will be expanded so that more families can access affordable, quality preschool services closer to home.
Support for Preschools to join the Government-supported Network
As part of this effort, ECDA will introduce a new grant to help eligible preschool operators that wish to transition onto the Government-supported network. This will allow a broader range of operators, including smaller operators, to benefit from Government support while continuing to offer diverse programmes and choices for families.
The details of the new grant are still being worked through. ECDA is engaging preschool operators and the sector closely to co-create a solution that supports operators in making the transition, while meeting our objectives of affordability, accessibility and quality. More details will be shared later this year.
Building Up Infant Care Manpower
As infant care becomes more affordable and accessible, demand for infant care places is expected to rise. To support the expected demand growth, the sector would have to recruit 1,800 more infant care educators by 2030.
ECDA’s focus is to build a strong and well-trained infant care workforce. Infant care educators require specialised knowledge and skills to support the developmental and caregiving needs of infants.
From September 2026, ECDA will expand the Manpower Hiring Grant (MHG) to support preschool operators in recruiting and training prospective local and foreign early childhood educators towards the relevant certification.
The MHG provides funding support, including up to 70% of training stipends and up to 50% of course fee subsidies for eligible local and foreign trainees who enrol to attain early childhood certification in Singapore on a Place-and-Train mode1.
Through the expanded MHG, training stipends will be enhanced across trainee categories, with additional support for infant care certification, including the Assistant Infant Educator (AIE) and Fundamentals Certificate in Infant Care (FCIC) courses. Funding support under the MHG will be extended by three years, to 31 December 2030.
Apart from the MHG, ECDA will also explore overseas partnerships where needed to broaden the pool of suitable candidates.
Encouraging More Educators to Enter Infant Care
There are more than 2,000 preschool educators who hold qualifications that enable them to work in both infant care and other preschool roles. As of August 2026, about 4% are currently serving as infant educators while the remaining serve the older ages.
This represents a potential pool of qualified educators who could take on infant care roles. ECDA is exploring additional support for both new and in-service educators who are interested in infant care, to encourage more educators to take up infant care roles and obtain relevant certification where needed. More details will be shared when ready.
1Place-and-Train is where an individual is first hired by an employer and then receives formal and part-time training to take on the new job role.
