Minister of Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli recently announced that Teachers’ and Children’s Day will also be preschool holidays from 2024.
Mr Masagos shared the update at the Early Childhood Development Agency’s (ECDA) Early Childhood Celebrations and Conference on Friday (27 Oct).
Preschools are currently allowed to close on six days a year on top of the two new holidays. They will be renamed Development Days.
The minister strongly urged preschools to keep educators free from teaching and caregiving during these holidays.
Preschools currently close on public holidays and have up to six days of annual closure, including Teachers’ Day.
However, Ms Masagos shared that Teachers’ Day and Children’s Day will both be designated as preschool holidays from 2024.
A press release by the Ministry of Social and Family Development states that this is part of ongoing efforts to improve the working conditions of early childhood (EC) educators.
Source: Gabe Pierce on Unsplash, for illustration purposes only
“This move is to recognise EC educators’ contributions and the important role they play in shaping the lives of young children,” the statement reads. “The preschool holidays will provide EC educators with the opportunity to rest and recharge.”
Preschools may close on these two holidays on top of the six days each year.
Mr Masagos also said that the six days shall be referred to as Development Days instead.
The schools may use these days for non-teaching tasks, such as training and curriculum planning.
Currently, preschools also close for three half-days on the eve of five specific public holidays, according to the ECDA.
These are New Year, Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali, and Christmas.
Source: ECDA
Mr Masagos said that the ECDA will remove this provision in order to give preschools more “flexibility to engage their staff and parents to make adjustments to the preschool’s operating hours on the eve of public holidays”.
They may make these adjustments “based on their operational needs and the caregiving needs of their parents”.
In his speech, Mr Masagos strongly encouraged employers to “guard the breaks during the day for educators”. This ensured they could be free of teaching responsibilities to rest and recharge, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported.
ECDA also plans to roll out a teaching tool at the end of next year to help educators facilitate quality interactions with children.
Also read: Early Childhood Educators In S’pore Express Concern About High Workload, Seek Fair Solution To Issue
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Featured image adapted from k fritz on Google Maps and Gabe Pierce on Unsplash, for illustration purposes only.
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