The National Security Council and Ministry of Education should come out with a SOP and allow kindergartens to resume operation during RMCO.

Daycare centers, which are under the purview of the Women, Families and Community Development Ministry, were allowed to operate since May 4, with strict rules in place.

However, kindergartens and preschools, which are under the purview of the Ministry of Education, are not allowed to operate until now.

According to Persatuan Guru Tadika Malaysia, 90% of the preschool operators have offered fee discounts ranging from 30% to 60%. However, many parents still refuse to pay.

The remarks of Senior Minister (Security) Ismail Sabri Yaakob that schools should not collect fees from parents as long as they were still closed does not help the situation.

For parents with young children aged between 4 years old to 6 years old, many of them send the kids to kindergarten while parents with kids aged below 4 years old send their kids to nursery.

That’s why not allowing kindergartens to resume operation will cause difficulties and inconvenience to double-income families.

If childcare centers are allowed to resume operation, there is no reason why kindergartens cannot, with proper SOP in place.

The National Security Council and Ministry of Education should be proactive and be more understanding towards the needs of young parents. 

Teo Nie Ching
Kulai MP