Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each of the last five years, what is the ratio of male preschool teachers to female counterparts; (b) whether the Ministry has issued guidelines on the rules set by preschool centres specific to the conduct of male preschool teachers; and (c) if so, what are these guidelines.
Answer
1. Male pre-school educators comprised about 1% of the Early Childhood workforce in each of the last five years.
2. The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has not issued guidelines pertaining to the rules set by pre-school centres specific to the conduct of male pre-school educators. All staff, regardless of gender, must abide by ECDA’s stipulated protocols to ensure appropriate child management practices when interacting with or caring for infants and children in a pre-school.