Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Where do all the babies go?

There's a dearth of babies in S'pore, isn't there? That's the reason for the latest frenzy of mooting fresh incentives for married couples to bravely face the full consequences of their private activities without taking the necessary safety precautions.

Yet one institution seems to be doing its math and coming up with a different answer from our local census bureau. NY kindergarten will be opening its doors to 500+ pre-schoolers from next year. 700 others are on the waiting list.

Parents are willing to fork out close to $1K per three-month term to give their precious a headstart in Chinese language education. That'll nicely pay for all the lovely facilities Junior will be enjoying on campus, like the gym and the kitchen (aerobics instructors, master chefs and fire-safety officials don't come cheap).

The rock-climbing facility isn't for the students. It's for the teachers. Looking after 500+ screaming kids and the parents of 700 other kids still on the waiting list, that's the wall they'll be driven up before each day is over.

Um, what's a "singlethon"? Is that like the festival in which they catch singles, tie them to a stake and mercilessly goad them with biological clocks until they cough up a million bucks in donations? If there's money to be made, it's sure worth exploring...

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