SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Education (MOE) is reviewing how student care operators are appointed after terminating one operator’s contract at eight primary schools last week, affecting around 1,800 students.
Speaking to media during a visit on Friday (Feb 20) to one of the schools, Jing Shan Primary School, MOE deputy director-general of education and director of schools Tan Chen Kee said the ministry is now looking at whether its vetting process needs to be tightened.
“We are reviewing how we are appointing the operators. Will it be more stringent, or will there be other criteria that we put in? These are things that we are discussing at the moment,” she said.
Currently, student care operators are selected through a public tender process. Potential operators are assessed on their financial viability, programmes, staff strength and costs. Once appointed, they are regularly evaluated by schools, with MOE stepping in if serious breaches occur.
“It would also be useful for us, as well as other agencies, to also look at the whole process and what the gaps there could be,” said Mrs Tan. “And then we’ll work together for an inter-agency response to strengthening this.”
When student care operators are appointed, they are regularly evaluated by the schools, and MOE gets involved when there are serious breaches, she shared.
HOW THE SITUATION UNFOLDED
Student care operator Little Professors Learning Centre (LPLC) had its services terminated last Saturday following investigations into unpaid staff salaries and double deductions from parents’ GIRO accounts. A police report has since been filed over the fee anomalies.
The private operator ran student care centres at Anchor Green, Jing Shan, Kranji, Punggol Cove, Waterway, Westwood, Hong Wen and White Sands primary schools. It also provided Kindergarten Care – after-school care for MOE Kindergartens – at six of those schools.
