Tuition centres, kindies affected by MCO need assistance — Political aide
KUCHING: The government’s Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (Prihatin) has failed to provide sufficient assistance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country, said political aide Michael Kong.
Kong, who is a special assistant to Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen, said apart from partially failing SMEs, the package also did not provide any assistance for the early childhood education sector.
“Other than the loan deferments for a period of six months, there is no assistance from our government (both state and federal) which would directly benefit the early childhood education sector such as childcare centres, kindergartens and even tuition centres,” he said in a press statement yesterday.
According to him, these centres are currently being pressured to give discounts or waive fees for the duration of the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, which may yet be extended beyond April 14.
“Even if it (MCO) ends on April 14 based on the announcement thus far, most parents would still not take the risk of sending their children back to childcare centres, kindergartens and tuition centres immediately upon expiry of the MCO.
“Most likely, it will take another few weeks before the parents will start sending their children back to these centres.”
Kong said during this MCO period, these education providers would still have to pay their teachers and employees full salaries, resulting in some operators contemplating winding up if the current situation persists.
“We understand that some learning institutions are resorting to e-learning, but for early childcare and learning which need more personal attention, e-learning is quite impossible,” he pointed out.
Kong cautioned that many individuals would lose their jobs if early childhood education centres or tuition centres started closing down, saying the government needs to step in before it happens.