Confusion over tadika classes

THIS is an open letter to the Education Ministry. Firstly, it’s sad that I have to resort to writing to the newspaper to get the attention of policy makers. I hope the powers that be will get down to the ground and understand the situation for themselves instead of just relying on bureaucrats who are doing very little to improve the situation.

As a law-abiding kindergarten operator, I was informed that a kindergarten (tadika) cannot offer classes to three-year-old children as this is the responsibility of childcare centres (taska), which are not under the purview of the Education Ministry.

There appears to be some confusion over offering classes (tadika) and providing day care (taska) to this age group. However, the reality is such that one can walk into most kindergartens and one would find programmes being offered for children aged three to six years.

I have some questions to ask the Education Ministry.

Why are some kindergarten operators currently allowed to offer programmes for three-yearold children? Is this due to poor enforcement?

I am also aware that some kindergarten operators bypass this ruling by registering their operations as “enrichment centres”. Technically then, are they kindergartens or not? And should they not be under the purview of the Education Ministry since they offer programmes for children aged three to six years?

Is the Education Ministry behind time with regard to this ruling? Is it not aware that many parents are sending their three-year-old children to kindergartens that offer programmes for this age group? Hence, is the rule that a tadika cannot operate classes for three-yearold children archaic?

I would also like to take this opportunity to highlight another issue that will affect many experienced kindergarten teachers in the coming year. It has been communicated, but cannot be confirmed, by Education Ministry officials that preschool teachers must have a Diploma in Childhood Education as a minimum qualification. This is a wonderful goal and while I am very supportive of raising the standards of teachers, the minds behind this plan should be aware that a proper transition plan must be in place.

The sad fact is that many of the current teachers cannot afford the money or time to pursue the diploma. I have even offered some of my teachers partial scholarships but they declined as they have families to look after.

Furthermore, a diploma does not automatically make the holder a good kindergarten teacher. As an operator, I have seen diploma holders with just theoretical knowledge but lack the experience and, sadly, some of them don’t even like working with children.

The Education Ministry needs to be mindful of the fact that there is a good base of seasoned kindergarten teachers now who truly love children. Although they may only have SPM or STPM qualifications, many of them have been given internal and external training over the years.

We must also remember that the Diploma in Childhood Education was non-existent when they started work as kindergarten teachers. I wholly agree that new hires should have the minimum qualification mentioned, but in the transition period, the current teachers without diplomas should be offered some form of certification based on their years of working experience so that they can continue teaching. Otherwise, we will be seeing a large-scale retrenchment exercise in the private preschool industry and a sudden increase in fees as kindergarten operators will certainly have to pay more for teachers with higher qualifications.

The knock-on effects will certainly be there. So, please rethink and plan carefully instead of fire-fighting and flip-flopping later.