SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) will make it mandatory for all pre-schools to close on Teachers’ Day from this year onwards, the ministry’s Senior Parliamentary Secretary Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim announced on Thursday (Mar 5).

“While most already practise this, this move further signals our recognition and appreciation for our educators,” Associate Professor Faishal said.



This is part of MSF’s efforts to raise the standing of the profession, he said.

He said this as he outlined efforts that have been put in place over the past five years to attract more local educators and raise the quality of early childhood educators.

Such efforts include the introduction of training awards and Professional Conversion Programmes to attract local students and mid-career professionals to become early childhood educators, the formation of the National Institute of Early Childhood Development to drive the quality of training, and the launch of a national campaign to foster greater respect and recognition for the profession.



“These efforts help to raise the resilience of our early childhood workforce,” he said, adding that educators are “at the heart” of quality pre-schools.

Nearly all the 1,300 childcare centres in Singapore declared they would close on Teachers' Day after the school holiday was extended to early childhood educators in 2017.

Less than half did the same in 2016.

