By Non-Constituency MP, Yee Jenn Jong
[Delivered in Committee of Supply on 12 March 2015]
Sir, I am glad to hear of the plan for more school-based student care centres (SSCs) last week. Even as we increase the number of centres, a concern will be the availability of dedicated and trained staff.
Since 2000, the ministry has made steady progress in attracting and training manpower for child care. In comparison, there have been far weaker efforts for student care in these same areas. Staff training is not mandatory and the range of courses and number of training providers are far fewer for student care.
We will need to act faster to drive up the level of competency and number of staff in student care. Fortunately, student care operating hours tend to be short, with most opened only in the afternoons as most schools are single-session. There is scope to attract mothers who may wish to return to the workforce but want shorter work hours. We can target this group with training grants and incentives to join the sector. With more trained staff, we can hopefully increase the pace of more SSCs.
Also, like preschool, it may be better to have a single agency to look after student care. We could have something like ECDA or change the name and scope of ECDA to also cover student care. With a single coordinating agency driving a national priority to increase the capacity and quality of student care, young parents can work at ease and may not need to spend so much on tuition and on alternative care arrangements.