I have no doubt that pre-school operators welcome the “Rental subsidies for operators opening pre-schools in heartlands” (Sept 25). The childcare centre my daughter is enrolled in is adjusting its fees next year by 5 per cent to keep up with rising operating costs. It will also cease to provide a discount for siblings.

While I have nothing against this, I have observed that, since the subsidies for pre-school operators were increased, so have childcare fees. Many operators have cited increasing costs, but with the increased subsidies, should not the cost of childcare be set to fall?

The basic childcare subsidy is capped at S$600 for working mothers and additional subsidies were introduced in April this year, to the benefit of lower income families with household incomes of S$7,500 and below.

When the additional subsidies were announced, the Government said it would keep an eye on childcare operators to ensure that fees do not go up once higher subsidies kick in.

The combination of increases to operating (infrastructure) grants for pre-school operators and additional subsidy for lower-income families are to help offset the cost of childcare. But has this been effective?

With the cost of childcare rising, there has to be a shift in how the Government plans to raise birth rates, while encouraging women to return to the workforce after giving birth.