JOHOR BAHARU: The Education Ministry hopes the four-hour pre-school period beginning in this year’s school session will provide quality education to children.Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said the increased hours from 2-3 hours previously could ensure the children got sufficient education in line with the National Key Result Areas (NKRA) determined by the government.
“It is estimated that the entrance of children aged 5-6 years in pre-school is 67 per cent now. I am confident the government’s efforts to increase pre-school enrollment to 87 per cent in three years will be achieved with the increase in the hours,” he said.
Wee, who is Ayer Hitam MP told reporters this during a visit to Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina Foon Yew 2 here yesterday.
Earlier, Wee and his wife Datin Jessica Lim, sent their son Julian Wee Yu Hao, 7, to enroll into Year One in the school.
He said the four-hour schedule was practised in many developed countries.
Wee said a guideline has also been issued to ensure quality education including having graduate teachers in each pre-school.
He also warned private pre-school operators not to raise fees due to the increased hours and not to take advantage of higher costs including the price hike of sugar. — Bernama