Helping Children Build a Strong Foundation for Lifelong Learning through Quality Education in Medan

In 2005, Yanuar Irawan started Kinderland Preschool Medan in a large two-storey building along Jl. Tumapel in Medan, Indonesia.

Having benefitted from quality education himself, Yanuar believes strongly that such an education at an early age gives children the mental, emotional, and physical skills to grow to their full potential – and tackle whatever future challenges they may face in an ever-changing and increasingly competitive world. It was this belief that made him return to his hometown, upon completion of his postgraduate education in the US, to start a preschool in 2005.

To start the preschool he envisioned, Yanuar naturally turned towards Singapore as a Singapore education was (and still is) the preferred choice of most Indonesian parents.

After some research, Yanuar found Kinderland International Education (KES), a leading provider of quality early childhood education with more than 30 years of proven track record in nurturing confident children in Singapore and the region. With many shared beliefs on quality education for children, it did not take long for Yanuar to decide to take up the KES franchise. The rest, like they say, is history.

With KES’s strong support, especially in staff development and curriculum consultancy, the past eleven years, the preschool managed to nurture thousands of students and grow the Kinderland community to a sizeable number.

Parents are still seeking out the preschool for its quality education. Yanuar has seen for himself the results of children (including his own children) benefitting from the Kinderland education. He was especially pleased with how quickly the preschoolers developed a love for learning and a global outlook, both of which are critical for their future academic and career success. Yanuar is not resting on his laurels though.

“We need to keep up the standard,” he said. “We also need to be innovative and come up with contextualised programmes to prepare children transit smoothly from preschool to primary school. It is a fact that many primary schools in Medan are still using worksheets to conduct lessons and we need to prepare our preschoolers for that.”

Going forward, Yanuar has plans to set up a primary school. However, he is ever-mindful of the industry-wide manpower issues.

“As it is, there is a high turnover of teaching staff in preschools,” Yanuar said. “The preschool industry is viewed by some as a lucrative business. Because of that, quite a few new preschools have opened in the neighbourhood recently, giving rise to stiffer competition and higher demand for preschool teachers.”

For Yanuar, nothing will shake his commitment to provide quality education at his Kinderland preschool. As he puts it: “Parents have entrusted us to prepare their children for the future. This is a serious commitment which we have committed to deliver. We need to make sure the teachers we hire are passionate and dedicated professionals, capable of helping the preschool deliver the standard we promised.”