Parent flamed online after complaints of pre-school releasing child 5 to 10 minutes early

We have all heard Singaporean parents complaining about how early school starts for their children, with many expressing concerns about how this affects their physical development.

The concern has sparked conversations in the education sector that lead to schools to take initiative to start school at a later time.

However, recently, a different kind of complaint about school times sparked debates online when an anonymous parent expressed disappointment on their child's school - not for starting early - but for ending early.

In a note that was posted on Facebook's All Singapore Stuff page, the parent expressed concerns at how ending classes 10 to 15 minutes everyday before the stipulated time meant a losing "one day of his lessons" in one month. 

According to the parent, using the Diibear app which tracks check-in and check-out time, the child's check out time is often at 2.30 pm, which meant that the child was released 10 to 15 minutes earlier than that.

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The parent also wrote a detailed calculation of how long it takes "children to pack bags, queue up, walk down the stairs, and maybe go toilet."

"I pay for school fees for school hours from 1130 to 1430. So technically speaking, the earlist [sic.] they start packing up should be 1425 then by the time they walk down and I fetch my child, should be 1435 to 1440, right?" the post continued.

The note is then summed up with the parent asking if anybody else notices what time their child ends school and pointing out that parents would be questioning the school hours if it was for primary and secondary schools and tuition centres instead. "u [sic] would not see that your child is released earlier than the stipulated time, right?"

The post has has since gained a lot of attention and some hilarious comments from fellow Singaporeans, parents and even educators. 

Here are some of their comments: 

When contacted by AsiaOne, Adventist Schoolhouse provided the following statement: 

The safety of our children entrusted in our care is our top priority. The procedures we have put in place in school are all centred around this priority.

DiiBear, an online app has been implemented to allow us to manage and monitor the children's attendance to school.

School dismissal is at Level 1 of our premise. In preparing for dismissal, the children are taught to pack and tidy up after themselves.

Our educators allocate time to move the children across the floors in a safe and orderly manner. These are valuable life skills and learning moments that Adventist Schoolhouse believes in, guided by our mission to sow seeds of love, knowledge and compassion into our children.

We are extremely appreciative to our community who have come forward to explain our philosophy of teaching and the administrative needs. As educators, we would like to focus on inspiring growth and developing character in a joyous Christian environment.

This article was first published in theAsianparent.

Additional reporting by AsiaOne.