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The review of early childhood educators' salaries is expected to be completed by 2022, and these individuals can look forward to seeing the changes kick in from 2023 onwards.

Prospects of early childhood educators'

The Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli announced this in Parliament on Sep. 13 during his response to Member of Parliament (MP) Wan Rizal's two-part question.

Wan asked Masagos when is the expected date of completion for the salary review of early childhood educators under the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA).

He also asked if the review will see the implementation of measures which will help educator's manage workload and provide them career development pathways and progressions.

Review to complete by 2022, changes implemented from 2023

In response, Masagos said the review of early childhood educators' salaries is underway and is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2022.

The changes will follow after and be implemented by ECDA and government-supported operators from 2023 onwards.

Masagos said the review will ensure that educators' salaries are commensurate with their contributions and professional skills, while at the same time, be competitive enough to attract and retain talent in the sector.

Ongoing initiatives to manage workload, ECDA paying attention to educators' well-being

With regard to the educator's workload, Masagos said there are digitalisation initiatives which are ongoing to help educators better manage their workload.

He reassured that ECDA is paying attention to the well-being of educators’, adding that it is working with preschools to to ensure that educators’ physical and mental well-being are taken care of.

ECDA will adopt recommendations from the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment from the early childhood sector, and through engaging and working with stakeholders to make improvements to the physical and mental well-being of educators.

Career pathways have been expanded

Lastly, Masagos said there is an existing Early Childhood Skills Framework and a Continuing Professional Development roadmap, apart from the review.

He added that educators' career pathways have also been expanded to include new or larger roles such as Lead Early Years Educator, Deputy Centre Leader and Curriculum Specialist.

Increase in salary for preschool educators

In a written answer on Sep. 12, Masagos answered a similar query from MP Melvin Yong, who asked about the salaries of early childhood educators, and whether they could be matched to the increments of MOE kindergarten teachers.

Masagos answered:

"Over the past three years, educators’ salaries in government-supported preschools have increased by around 20 per cent on average. There is an ongoing salary review for Early Childhood educators which we expect to complete in the 4th quarter of 2022."

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