2019 target for daycare centres in govt offices
KUALA LUMPUR: The government has given government agencies and departments until next year to set up daycare centres in their offices.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said priority was given to government departments and agencies with employees working in shifts.
The ministry, she said, would be working with the Education Ministry to ensure that daycare centres could be set up in schools to help teachers.
“For the government sector, a monthly subsidy of RM180 a month per child for daycare services is in place for civil servants whose household income is not more than RM5,000.
“For the public sector, a tax exemption initiative for this purpose can be redeemed by employers based on the Feb 15, 1996, circular from the Inland Revenue Board, which provides tax exemption for renovation and maintenance of buildings to create daycare centres,” said Dr Wan Azizah, who is deputy prime minister.
She was responding to Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff ’s (Pas-Rantau Panjang) question on the government’s plans to monitor childcare centres, especially homebased ones, to ensure that child abuse cases did not recur.
She said the ministry had organised a workshop on the Childcare Centre Act Amendment (Act 308) on July 11 to improve the monitoring of such centres.
She said the Welfare Department had gathered information on home-based daycare centres, which cared for not more than four children under 4 years old. This, she said, was to improve the centres’ standards and safety.
The Welfare Department, she said, provided guidance to daycare operators and shared with them information on Permata daycare courses, as well as seminars and briefings on childcare and early childhood education via 42 training agencies approved by the department.
“This is to improve daycare operators’ skills and knowledge. There are programmes held to boost public awareness and educate parents on the importance of sending their children to daycare centres that are recognised by the Welfare Department.”
She said a special committee would be formed to draft competency standards that covered aspects such as safety, training and basic skills to be used by daycare centres.
The committee, she said, would supervise the registration of daycare centres with the Welfare Department.
She said it would work closely with legislative bodies to ensure smooth court proceedings involving cases of misconduct by daycare centre operators.