A total of 13,800 children are on the wait list for childcare places.
Of this figure, 40 per cent are already enrolled in another childcare centre, Minister for Social and Family Development (MSF) Tan Chuan-Jin told Parliament yesterday.
Mr Tan, who was responding to a question by Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah, said many centres now have vacancies to enrol children at short notice.
“However, for a few housing estates with high childcare demand, parents may still experience waiting times that range from a few weeks to a few months,” he said.
“In particular, parents may have to wait longer if they prefer a specific centre due to its location or operator.”
Since 2012, the number of childcare places has increased significantly by over 40 per cent to more than 130,000.
To further reduce waiting times, there will be more childcare capacity in housing estates with high demand.
This includes the recently announced four large centres at Punggol, Sengkang and Bukit Panjang.
Future HDB Build-To-Order developments have been planned with larger childcare centres to meet the needs of young families.
Read also: Workplace childcare centres gain popularity
4 mega childcare centres to open in 2018
Fewer enrolling for kindergarten, more opting for childcare
This article was first published on Feb 07, 2017.
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