Register and regulate childcare centres nationwide, govt urged

PETALING JAYA: Unregistered or informal childcare centres in the country must be looked into in addressing child abuse, said a child activist.

Referring to the guidelines governing daycare centres and nurseries, CRIB Foundation (Child Rights Innovation and Betterment) co-chairman Srividhya Ganapathy said that for the standard operating procedure (SOP) to be effective, “we need to find ways to enhance the registration of childcare centres around the country, especially the informal centres”.

“You can only regulate those that come under your purview and jurisdiction,” she added.

She said there had been no explanation on how the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry or the Welfare Department would go about registering such centres around the country.

Srividhya also urged for immediate steps to be taken to ensure childcare providers and their employees are provided with basic child protection training.

There should also be a manageable ratio of children to trained childcare personnel, she added.

On March 27, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri announced additional guidelines in the childcare SOP to avoid cases of abuse and deaths at daycare centres and nurseries.

The Malaysia Association of Registered Early Child Care and Development told The Star that the additional measures include ensuring there are no blind spots in closed-circuit television (CCTV) coverage at sites like these centres’ dining hall, porch, kitchen or activity space.

The guidelines also call for improved cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) courses for staff.

Be My Protector engagement and operations director Roland Edward said daycare centre staff members and teachers should have a good grasp of medical knowledge in addition to being Cprcertified.

“Having the staff Cpr-certified at daycare centres is great as this is commonly practised by carers at old folks’ homes.

“But it would be better if they are equipped with some basic medical knowledge for when the children show signs of fever, flu and so on,” he said when contacted.

Edward said the guidelines could have been better but could still serve as a basic SOP for daycare centres to improve in the future.

“The guidelines do not cover daycare centres that take care of children with special needs. But for now, we welcome the new SOP since we need it,” he said.

He also welcomed the move to use CCTVS but warned that the security of the system that stores the recordings of the surveillance must be top-notch as it could be abused by irresponsible parties such as hackers.

Additionally, Edward said adherence to the guidelines would be better if daycare centres were institutionalised by the government and placed under its purview.

“This way, parents can ensure their children have equal education opportunities regardless of their financial background. The government could impose a fee according to the family’s tax bracket,” he added.

Communications manager Jesslyn Loh, a parent, said there should be open communication between parents and daycare centre staff.

“My daughter is old enough to tell me if anything is wrong. What I need, as a parent, is transparency from the daycare centre,” said the mother of one.

Loh, 31, said the daycare centre her three-year-old attends in Kuala Lumpur does not come with access to live CCTV footage.

However, she said the centre would provide constant updates such as images and videos of her daughter through a mobile application.

“As for CCTV, my daughter’s school does not provide access to it for privacy reasons.

“Right now, I am comfortable with this. But I am open to having access to the footage when it is available,” she added.