SDP's Chee Soon Juan pounced on Minister Shanmugam's speech to claim credit for themselves

SDP's Chee Soon Juan pounced on Minister Shanmugam's speech to claim credit for themselves and in the process, proved that character is permanent.

Before SDP came up with the policy paper, the major shift to focus on education at all levels was announced by PM Lee at the 2011 NDR.

Many initiatives followed to realize that aim.

At the 6th S Rajaratnam Lecture in 2013, Minister Tharman reiterated the government's focus on intervening earlier in children's lives.

"We are intervening upstream, earlier in children’s lives, to reduce the gaps in the starting points between children from poorer and better off backgrounds. We are investing in better quality pre-schooling, at affordable rates, and in detecting those with learning difficulties early. We have to find every way of reducing these gaps, these early gaps between kids of different social backgrounds, through both government and community initiatives." - Tharman

https://www.mfa.gov.sg/content/mfa/overseasmission/cairo/press_statements_speeches/embassy-news-and-press-releases/2013/201312/press_20131202.html

SDP IS HOW A DELUDED OPPOSITION LOOKS LIKE.

SDP again shamelessly tried to claim credit for PAP's initiatives.

Too bad. They are a few years late.

Back in 2011, PM Lee had already declared the Government's intention to make the upward paths wide open to all in education.

2012: MOE under Heng Swee Keat introduced guidelines on curriculum framework for pre-school education and also studied the interface between pre-school and early primary education.

In his speeches, Minister Tharman talked about intervening upstream in children's lives (e.g speech at S Rajaratnam Lecture 2013) to reduce the gaps in the starting points between children from poorer and better-off backgrounds.

2013: MOE pilot kindergartens started with the aim of providing quality and affordable pre-school education for children from lower income families. Fees are as low as just a few dollars from the lowest income group.

The Government hasn't done with all that they are going to do to bridge inequality through education.

KidSTART was piloted in 2016 to help vulnerable children to provide them a good start in life. Since then, it has been progressively rolled out and will be expanded.

More will continue to be done as the Government has already announced that spending on early education will be doubled with better teachers and quality education.