In my time, kindergarten is not part of the learning. A child may enter kindergarten or not and he will still be accepted in the first grade. I guess it is high time that the kindergarten is stopped for now just to make it safe for toddlers to be at home instead of exposing them to the risk of getting the corona virus.
I don't think parents would risk enrolling their kid at this point unless it's a home study course. I do know that children can be admitted to grade 1 even without pre-school education, they just need to learn how to read and write.
I think kindergarten is considered as a preschool among 5 years old kids to complete the 12 years curriculum of the education in the Philippines. That is the so-called K to 12. If kindergarten won't be stopped what would happen to the curriculum? It would necessitate to revise the curriculum, won't it?
This is definitely a concern right now - in my area of the United States all schools and preschools have been closed for the rest of the school year. A lot of daycare centers are closed as well. Even if the children themselves do not show heavy symptoms, they can still be a carrier and pass COVID-19 on to others - which is one of the big concerns at the moment.
The main issue with the pre-schoolers here is the attitude and mindset. As the saying goes, kids will be kids so you cannot expect them to follow the protocols for safety like wearing a face mask and observing social distancing. Perhaps it is a good decision to close such schools while the virus is still around. The risk is high and just one child with a virus will cause an outbreak.
The education system per se needs a revamp in view of the pandemic threats. Having said that most mothers, however, would want their children out of their home as there would be no one to take care of them while they are at work or elsewhere..