KUCHING, June 29 — A special form for the purpose of registration of privately-run childcare centres and kindergartens in Sarawak will be drafted with input from agencies involved in granting operating licences.
State Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said that particulars to be included in the form would be decided at a workshop to be held in July with the technical committees involved in granting the licence.
“The form will have uniformity from all technical agencies to facilitate the registration of these private childcare centres and kindergartens, and it only involves one form compared to the previous practice where various forms had to be filled in by the centres’ operators”, she said.
She was speaking to reporters at a press conference after chairing a meeting on the standard operating procedures for registration of childcare centres in the state at her office in Baitulmakmur Building, Petra Jaya here.
She said that the approval for an operating licence would be issued within 35 days, provided that the applicants complied with all requirements.
Fatimah also said that beginning this year, the temporary registration certificates issued by the education department for registration of such childcare centres would no longer be accepted.
She said that only licences which had been approved by all the technical agencies involved could be used as a proof that these centres were allowed to operate.
“We want these kindergartens to operate in a safe and peaceful atmosphere so that the learning and teaching process for the children can be optimised”, she said.
She said that another priority was to ensure that each of these centres had a valid operating licence to ensure the safety and quality of education provided, as well as adhering to all the requirements set.
“It is very important for these operators to have a licence to convey the message that childcare services need to be done in a proper and organised manner and to enable them to receive government assistance, similar to the situation when the Covid-19 outbreak hit the country”, she said. — Bernama
