[June, 2010]

The word franchise, originating from the French language, means privilege or freedom. In this sense, franchising offers people the freedom to own, manage and direct their own business. It means "being in business for yourself but not by yourself".

It is often referred to as the "Best ambassador of free enterprise in the world". No wonder, franchising has become a global phenomenon. It has driven home the message and value of entrepreneurship. Also, franchising has underlined  the importance of the small and medium enterprises (SME) in the economic development of countries, stimulated job creation and encouraged skills development. Franchising has, in its own special way, has invented "universal" products and services and  made the world a global village.

For us at Modern Montessori International (MMI), education starts at the preschool stage when a child's excitement for learning is ignited and not stifled by academic assessment, which should rightly be left when the child enters formal school.

In this regard, we are very happy with Education Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen's statement that the Ministry of Education has no plans to nationalise preschool education.