Vincegoh
25-07-12, 10:14
Many of you would have read the articles in the Sunday Times or Lianhe Zhaobao about SJCK’s lease in Harding that will expire in Dec 2014. Some of you may also have seen the news report on TV on Channel 8 and Channel U on Saturday night that featured the same issue.
SJCK has corresponded with Singapore Land Authority (SLA) as well as the Ministry of Education (MOE) since last year in the hope that we would be able to extend our lease beyond 2014. SLA has stated that this property will be up for open tender and is available for use by kindergartens and childcare centres for a few years (possibly 4 years) post 2014 and SJCK can participate in the bid and compete with other interested parties. While we respect SLA’s policies, it is a certainty that as a not-for-profit organization, we will not be able to compete financially with commercial entities for this property we are on.
By the time of the new tender, which will be around the 1st or 2nd quarter of 2014, SJCK would have arrived at ZERO registration for any intake in year 2015 in tandem with the progressive shut down. All preschool registration exercises for the following year would have been completed by April 2013 so it does not make any sense for SJCK to retender for the current site without any student intake for the 1st year of the new lease. Therefore SLA’s offer of an earlier retender exercise is of no significant assistance to SJCK even if we, by a long shot, win the tender bid.
Recent bidding exercises show that SJCK as a not-for-profit kindergarten will not be able to outbid interested parties keen on taking over this property. The most recent tender bid starting at a reserve price of $39,500/- was concluded with the highest bid of $101,000/- per month rental for a property that is one third smaller than our current property at Harding Road. Commercial educational corporations with deep pockets will displace SJCK and turn this property into another educational institution for the well-to-do only.
The bottom line is that SJCK will have to shut down and it is a shame to let go of a kindergarten that provides quality and affordable preschool education. This scenario would be the same for the many not-for-profit kindergartens and eventually only big players with expensive educational provision will be running the show (apart from PCF kindergartens and existing kindergartens located in facilities for religious use). In the future it is unlikely that there will be additional not-for-profit kindergartens that could provide quality and affordable preschool education if the government does not release property for their use.
We have explored all possible provision of building facilities for SJCK including HDB void decks, ex-MOE schools and commercial properties. Smaller properties that could house several smaller centers for SJCK are unfortunately virtually unavailable or untenable for the operation of SJCK. This leaves us with the clear need to continue our pursuit in the use of the current property at Harding Road for whatever number of years available, so that more children might benefit from the preschool education we offer. In the meantime we will continue to pursue every option available for the continual operation of SJCK.
We are very heartened by the trust that parents have in us in that many have still registered their children with us for 2013 and 2014 knowing that our future is uncertain. What is even more surprising is that we have a name list of children who hope to join SJCK in 2015 in spite of the fact that we do not even know where we will be in 2015!
The petition signed by 830 parents in 2011 to SLA and MOE contained many encouraging comments about how children have benefited from being in SJCK. You are most welcome to continue to forward your comments in support of SJCK in response to the recent media coverage.
Now that the matter of the lease has been made public along with responses from SLA and MOE, parents of SJCK are free to communicate with the media, relevant state authorities, members of parliament, ministers, or persons of influence with an appeal to ‘save SJCK from shutting down in 2014’ by allowing us to use the Harding Road property for a few more years.
Meanwhile, the parent committee will continue to submit an appeal to the Prime Minister’s Office. The appeal remains the same, for an extension to the current lease, for a direct allocation in the use of the property as sponsored by MOE, or for a direct rental agreement with SLA.
As a responsible kindergarten, we are trying our best to ensure that children registered with SJCK will be able to complete K2 at the current school site. The Pre-Nursery children of 2011 are the final batch who will complete their K2 in 2014. The Pre-Nursery children of 2012 will complete their K1 at Harding in 2014 and will be subject to whatever options are available in the future (including moving to possibly smaller centres) and will finish K2 in 2015. While Pre-Nursery classes are operational in 2013 and 2014, these classes will operate only for one year and all parents are reminded that there will not be any Nursery classes in year 2014 at Harding Road if there is no change to the present situation with regard to our lease.
We will also not be taking any new registration of children for Nursery in 2014 and for any class groups in 2015. Instead we have a parent interest list on a first-come-first-served basis for possible future registration of new students in the event that we are able to continue the operation of SJCK.
This is a rather lengthy email and we thank you for taking time to read it. We truly appreciate and thank many of you for your encouraging words and prayers as well as your understanding and support with regard to SJCK’s future. We hope that there will be a solution that is forthcoming and if any of you are in a position to direct us to land or buildings that are suitably located and at an affordable price so that we can continue the operation of SJCK, we will be most grateful. SJCK desires to be able to continue our mission of providing quality and affordable early childhood education to all Singaporeans regardless of income background.
Sincerely,
Pastor Richard Chung & Jacqueline Chung
Director & Principal
SJCK has corresponded with Singapore Land Authority (SLA) as well as the Ministry of Education (MOE) since last year in the hope that we would be able to extend our lease beyond 2014. SLA has stated that this property will be up for open tender and is available for use by kindergartens and childcare centres for a few years (possibly 4 years) post 2014 and SJCK can participate in the bid and compete with other interested parties. While we respect SLA’s policies, it is a certainty that as a not-for-profit organization, we will not be able to compete financially with commercial entities for this property we are on.
By the time of the new tender, which will be around the 1st or 2nd quarter of 2014, SJCK would have arrived at ZERO registration for any intake in year 2015 in tandem with the progressive shut down. All preschool registration exercises for the following year would have been completed by April 2013 so it does not make any sense for SJCK to retender for the current site without any student intake for the 1st year of the new lease. Therefore SLA’s offer of an earlier retender exercise is of no significant assistance to SJCK even if we, by a long shot, win the tender bid.
Recent bidding exercises show that SJCK as a not-for-profit kindergarten will not be able to outbid interested parties keen on taking over this property. The most recent tender bid starting at a reserve price of $39,500/- was concluded with the highest bid of $101,000/- per month rental for a property that is one third smaller than our current property at Harding Road. Commercial educational corporations with deep pockets will displace SJCK and turn this property into another educational institution for the well-to-do only.
The bottom line is that SJCK will have to shut down and it is a shame to let go of a kindergarten that provides quality and affordable preschool education. This scenario would be the same for the many not-for-profit kindergartens and eventually only big players with expensive educational provision will be running the show (apart from PCF kindergartens and existing kindergartens located in facilities for religious use). In the future it is unlikely that there will be additional not-for-profit kindergartens that could provide quality and affordable preschool education if the government does not release property for their use.
We have explored all possible provision of building facilities for SJCK including HDB void decks, ex-MOE schools and commercial properties. Smaller properties that could house several smaller centers for SJCK are unfortunately virtually unavailable or untenable for the operation of SJCK. This leaves us with the clear need to continue our pursuit in the use of the current property at Harding Road for whatever number of years available, so that more children might benefit from the preschool education we offer. In the meantime we will continue to pursue every option available for the continual operation of SJCK.
We are very heartened by the trust that parents have in us in that many have still registered their children with us for 2013 and 2014 knowing that our future is uncertain. What is even more surprising is that we have a name list of children who hope to join SJCK in 2015 in spite of the fact that we do not even know where we will be in 2015!
The petition signed by 830 parents in 2011 to SLA and MOE contained many encouraging comments about how children have benefited from being in SJCK. You are most welcome to continue to forward your comments in support of SJCK in response to the recent media coverage.
Now that the matter of the lease has been made public along with responses from SLA and MOE, parents of SJCK are free to communicate with the media, relevant state authorities, members of parliament, ministers, or persons of influence with an appeal to ‘save SJCK from shutting down in 2014’ by allowing us to use the Harding Road property for a few more years.
Meanwhile, the parent committee will continue to submit an appeal to the Prime Minister’s Office. The appeal remains the same, for an extension to the current lease, for a direct allocation in the use of the property as sponsored by MOE, or for a direct rental agreement with SLA.
As a responsible kindergarten, we are trying our best to ensure that children registered with SJCK will be able to complete K2 at the current school site. The Pre-Nursery children of 2011 are the final batch who will complete their K2 in 2014. The Pre-Nursery children of 2012 will complete their K1 at Harding in 2014 and will be subject to whatever options are available in the future (including moving to possibly smaller centres) and will finish K2 in 2015. While Pre-Nursery classes are operational in 2013 and 2014, these classes will operate only for one year and all parents are reminded that there will not be any Nursery classes in year 2014 at Harding Road if there is no change to the present situation with regard to our lease.
We will also not be taking any new registration of children for Nursery in 2014 and for any class groups in 2015. Instead we have a parent interest list on a first-come-first-served basis for possible future registration of new students in the event that we are able to continue the operation of SJCK.
This is a rather lengthy email and we thank you for taking time to read it. We truly appreciate and thank many of you for your encouraging words and prayers as well as your understanding and support with regard to SJCK’s future. We hope that there will be a solution that is forthcoming and if any of you are in a position to direct us to land or buildings that are suitably located and at an affordable price so that we can continue the operation of SJCK, we will be most grateful. SJCK desires to be able to continue our mission of providing quality and affordable early childhood education to all Singaporeans regardless of income background.
Sincerely,
Pastor Richard Chung & Jacqueline Chung
Director & Principal