Kindergartens

Kindergartens in Singapore provide up to three years of pre-school for children ages three to six. The three years are commonly calledNursery, Kindergarten 1 (K1) and Kindergarten 2 (K2), respectively.^[16]

Kindergartens provide an environment for children to learn how to interact with others, and to prepare them for formal education at Primary school. Activities include learning language - written and oral - and numbers, development of personal and social skills, games, music, and outdoor play. Children learn two languages, English and their official Mother Tongue (Chinese, Malay, or Tamil). Many private or church-based kindergartens might not offer Malay or Tamil, so non-Chinese pupils might also learn some Chinese in these kindergartens.

The kindergartens are run by the private sector, including community foundations, religious bodies, and civic or business groups. There are more than 200 kindergartens registered with the Ministry of Education. Kindergartens are also run by child care centres as well asinternational schools.

The People's Action Party, which has governed Singapore since 1957, runs 247 kindergartens through its charitable arm, the PAP Community Foundation.^[16]