I REFER to the report, 'Call to lower compulsory schooling age' (Sept 24), and would like to applaud the expert group studying ways to improve standards and quality in the preschool education sector for its suggestion that preschool education should come under one agency - the Ministry of Education (MOE).

It is timely for MOE to take this area under its portfolio for better governance over quality of teachers, curriculum and teaching methodology.

Early childhood education, we hope, will make - and not break - a child as these are formative years when, with a well-balanced pace and tone, learning becomes a joy.

The group also called for the Compulsory Education Act to be amended to cover preschool education for children aged five and above. It is my hope that the group is also saying that such provisions should be available to kids with disabilities.

The Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Young Children has been, in effect, to help children - whatever their ability or disability - to have access to stimulating environments from an early age. It would be an oversight if, as we seek improvements in preschool education, we inadvertently exclude children with disabilities from such provisions. I hope the group's recommendation did not leave out children with disabilities.

Braema Mathi (Ms)

This article was first published in The Straits Times.