Preschool teachers speak out after Gerald Giam suggests longer hours: 'I only have 2 hours with my own children'
Several preschool educators have spoken out after Workers' Party (WP) Member of Parliament (MP) Gerald Giam raised a parliamentary question suggesting that some preschools extend care hours until 7.30pm daily to meet the needs of working parents.
Since the issue was raised in Parliament on Feb 26, multiple videos have surfaced online of educators defending the preschool industry and highlighting concerns about teachers' welfare.
Proposal to extend operating hours raised in Parliament
Mr Giam, MP for Aljunied GRC, highlighted the "logistical impossibility" faced by working parents who finish work at 6pm in the Central Business District (CBD) and need to pick up their children in heartland estates by 7pm.
Citing work inflexibility, commute costs, and the lack of domestic help — factors he said disproportionately affect lower-income parents — he suggested that at least one preschool per HDB estate offer care until 7.30pm. These extended hours could be staffed by "ancillary care assistants" to avoid increasing the workload of core educators.
Mr Giam also asked whether the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) had conducted a "proactive survey" to assess parents' interest in the longer operating hours.
"Without this, we cannot assume that demand is low simply because parents may have resigned themselves to the current reality and are making career sacrifices in order to cope," he said.
Responding to Mr Giam's suggestions, Minister of State for Social and Family Development Goh Pei Ming acknowledged the challenges working parents face, but stressed the importance of flexible work arrangements.
He noted that the number of preschools offering care beyond 7pm has fallen from 40 schools in 2021 to 20 today.
Extending hours, he added, would come with "staffing requirements, additional resources and costs", which centres may factor into late-charge fees.
He also highlighted "very real manpower constraints" that preschools face, noting that educators themselves have families to return to in the evenings.
Parents, he added, should also recognise the importance of spending sufficient time with their children, rather than leaving them at school for extended hours.
'I only have 2 hours with my own children'
On Feb 28, TikToker @ermaothman, who identified herself as a preschool educator, criticised the proposal in a video that has since garnered over 217,000 views and more than 350 comments.
She questioned whether people realise that many preschool teachers are parents themselves. Some younger educators, she added, also attend school or courses after work.
"What about social life?" she asked. "Do they know that some of these people already do not have enough social lives? And now you want to extend their working hours? For what?"
Ermaothman also wondered why the responsibility should fall on the preschool industry, saying it is "bad enough" that educators already spend 10 hours a day caring for other people's children instead of their own.
"I only have two hours on good days, or less than two hours, with my own children per day," she said.
She suggested that instead of extending preschool hours, childcare and family care leave provisions for working parents could be increased. She pointed out that a parent with six children receives the same amount of childcare leave as a parent with one child, calling it "ridiculous".
Speaking to Stomp, Ermaothman also proposed that companies end work by 5.30pm or offer flexible work-from-home arrangements so parents can pick up their children by 7pm.
"While we understand not many families have a village to count on, not many teachers who are parents themselves have a village to count on, too."
Support parents not at the cost of educators: TikToker
Another TikToker, @sunnysideup_sg, said the preschool industry has been "suffering in silence and slowly eroding away".
Having seen many passionate teachers leave, she argued that longer hours do not mean better care.
Instead, it means "tired children and even more tired educators", she said in a video that has garnered more than 39,000 views.
"Supporting parents should not come at the cost of children and the educators," she added.
Stomp has reached out to sunnysideup_sg for more comments.
'They are educators, not babysitters'
Netizens have flooded the comments, expressing empathy for the preschool industry and its teachers.
"They are educators, not babysitters," one wrote. Many others agreed, noting that teachers have families of their own.
Some netizens also suggested reducing overall working hours in Singapore. "When parents have more time, children benefit," one comment read. In response, sunnysideup_sg said: "I'm sure reducing working hours will cause other issues for other companies too.
Another suggested hiring part-time staff for the late hours, such as between 6pm and 9pm. Any additional costs could be passed on to parents who pick up their children after 7pm, they added.
Some commenters identifying themselves as preschool teachers said educators' well-being and input "must be prioritised".
One pointed out that Saturday shifts had already been removed, questioning how extending weekday hours would affect work-life balance.
"I love my job as an infant educarer... but if they are going to execute this plan, I will leave. I will drop everything and leave," one commenter wrote. "Preschool teachers are someone's daughter, wife, mum or just... someone with (a) life outside of working hours."
"That's why I left the early childhood industry," another said.
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