Poor Response to MOE Kindergartens

I was flipping the pages of ST early this morning whilst waiting for the kids to get ready for school when I caught this article. I told myself so it is indeed panning out as I feared: response is poor.

I just found the time to read the story and it is worse than I thought. Many people don't even know about the upcoming MOE kindergartens. Don't they read the newspapers, watch TV or even listen to the radio? I thought the government is going to be very upset with the MSM for failing to bring the information to the people but I think the failure of spreading the message lies elsewhere: No buzz, no excitement and no word of mouth. You desperately need parents with preschool ready kids to tell other such parents especially for the lower income group.

Those who do not need or want MOE kindergartens were quick to suggest the government get into this. Many feel that their kids move from light to darkness when they go from preschool to primary school. Now the dark side has come into preschool, why would you want to send your children there? You want them to enjoy their childhood for as long as possible.

Trust in the government has been seriously eroded. MOE cannot simply assume that it has positive brand equity. You need to sell to your target audience why they ought to choose you. I don't believe they have provided any details on what their preschool program is like. I fear many might simply assume it is a lighter version of the tolerated primary school.

My next point is a sad one. Increasingly today's poor are not like those from yesterday. Then many among the poor worked hard and moved up but now many are trapped in a vicious cycle which perceived or real they see cost of living rising faster than income. Middle income parents might not want their kids to mix with the despairing poor but are happy to have the positive character attributes of the hungry poor rub off on their kids. Even if the middle class aren't selfish, they are mostly self focused especially when society is so competitive now you grab every advantage. How else do you explain the booming private tuition sector.

MPs and grassroots leaders going door to door is a pretty dumb and unimaginative way to get children into the MOE kindergartens isn't it? You do that when you are interested to see nearly every household. And if you do not know which families have the age appropriate kids, it shows that your grassroots leaders are really sleeping and out of touch with the community. There are countless other ways to reach them. I hope they asked those who opened the doors to them if they knew of any  neighbors with young kids. There was a time you could ask the policemen manning the neighborhood police post for such information, alas the policing model today is different and the information is absent.

Update: 3:35pm

If I weren't blogging for myself in a glass house, I wouldn't bother. Occasionally I have to be aware that people stop by and look inside.

I want to be fair to the government. Firstly I think Bay Yam Keng is a good MP and one of the few who gave up his job to be a full time MP. Secondly I reluctantly do a quick search to see what MOE had put out as information for their kindergartens. They have set up a website: http://www.moekindergarten.edu.sg/

I do not think very much of some PAP grassroots leaders especially Lionel de Souza. But they are a thicket of wheat and weeds, often hard to pick out. Why the PAP leaders tolerate the obvious weeds is beyond me. I would have thought they are serious political liabilities. The more they keep people like de Souza around  would only serve to lead us to think the worse of them. Good leaders always put a distance between themselves and sycophants.

Update: April 13

In a different and earlier time people might have queued overnight to land a place. ST tried its level best to be encouraging. My point? An organization that never had to compete for pupils do not know how to go about it when they have to. Likewise the government failed to lead in social media when previously it had the commanding heights of the press. They saw it coming but blind-sided themselves with fake preparations and response. Some silly hope for the best measures. They have become fat and complacent.