ECDA will use AI to review CCTV footage in pre-school investigations, detect potential misconduct

“While ECDA does not prescribe the type of CCTV camera system that must be installed – for example, whether it must be a tamper-proof recording system – pre-schools must provide CCTV footage when requested by ECDA to facilitate investigations,” he said.

Mr Masagos said the agency will take firm action against errant operators or individuals who fail to meet regulatory requirements. Individuals who refuse to provide the required CCTV footage without reasonable excuse or have tampered with or destroyed CCTV footage can be fined up to $5,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.

In an earlier case, former pre-school cook Teo Guan Huat, 61,

while they napped at the school between May and November 2023. His crimes were caught on the school’s CCTV system but the footage was erased, and the police were alerted only weeks later.

Mr Masagos said ECDA does not mandate operators to conduct regular reviews of their CCTV footage. “(This) will increase the administrative burden on our educators, and potentially take time and attention away from their primary role to care for and nurture our children,” he said.

CCTV cameras in pre-schools are a part of existing measures to ensure child safety, he added.

Operators must put in place standard operating procedures for child safety, and ensure that these are implemented effectively by all their centres and staff, he said.

Child management practices must also be supervised, such as through regular walkabouts by principals to observe staff-child interactions.

Staff must also be empowered and provided with the channels to report inappropriate practices to their principal and management team.

“Everyone must play their part to provide a safe and secure environment in our pre-schools,” said Mr Masagos.