News

We should be grateful to pre-school teachers for not only nurturing our young children, but also sacrificing their own family time to do so ( , Nov 28). Pre-schools tend to operate from 7am to 7pm. Most have two shifts – an earlier shift from 7am to around 5pm, and a later shift that ends at 7pm. The early shift teachers would have to leave their home as early as 6am if they do not live near the pre-school. This means that most would not be able to have breakfast with their family or see their children off to school. The later shift teachers may leave the pre-school only around 7.30pm after seeing off the last child and tidying up. This would leave them with very little time to spend with their own family when they get home. These teachers typically do not earn enough for it to make economic sense to hire a migrant domestic worker to help look after their families while they are working. Some end up leaving the industry due to these work hours. The pre-school teachers who stay are sacrificing their time with their own children, and deserve more recognition.