PUTRAJAYA, June 9 — The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry (KPWKM) will establish a database of the list of registered babysitters to help parents to choose daycare centres and registered babysitters for their children.
Its minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said that at the moment, there is no platform or referral centre for parents to choose their desired nanny.
“As of now, we do not have any centralised data. When people send their children to a daycare centre, there is no indication, only word of mouth.
“These parents want to know where the daycare is and who is running it,” she told reporters after opening the 2023 National Congress on Childcare and Early Education here today.
Without saying when the database might be realised, Nancy said the effort is still in the planning stage.
Meanwhile, she said the ministry will hold 105 engagement sessions with local authorities (PBT) nationwide this year to find a solution to facilitate the registration of babysitters interested in running nurseries.
According to Nancy, she often receives complaints from entrepreneurs who want to operate legally and be registered but face bureaucratic and technical problems from PBT.
She said she will discuss with the Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming on how to make it easier for nursery operators to operate legally without compromising on safety.
At the ministry level, Nancy said it only takes 30 days to get approval to register a nursery, but operators must first meet the safety conditions set by the PBT.
“Conditions that must be met are the location of the nursery, such as the distance from the main road, nursery must not be more than one-storey, and there is a need for a security door. These conditions are a challenge for nursery operators when registering (their premises),” she said.
As of December last year, it was found that a total of 1,080 nurseries were not registered with the Social Welfare Department (JKM). — Bernama
