34 applications approved for childcare centres at ministries, state govt offices

Thirty-four applications have been approved for the establishment of childcare centres in ministries and State Secretary offices at a cost of RM5.5 million while 11 applications have been rejected for not fulfilling requirements.

Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff said, the approval was from the 45 applications received until the application period ended on June 30.

Among the new childcare centres or nurseries that have been approved are 16 at the Health Ministry, Education Ministry (10), Higher Education Ministry (two) and Youth and Sports Ministry (one), Prime Minister’s Department (one), state governments of Terengganu (two), Pahang (one) and Kelantan (one),” she told an oral question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.

She was responding to a question from Hannah Yeoh (PH-Segambut) who wanted to know the details of the RM30 million grant to set up workplace nurseries in the public sector via the 2020 Budget and efforts to prioritise front line staff such as in hospitals.

Siti Zailah said, a total of 38 nurseries in hospitals nationwide had been operating during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period with 699 children of frontline staff having benefitted.

Apart from that, she said, various initiatives including special assistance was provided to ease the burden of nursery operators to start operations with standard operating procedures (SOP) in place, with additional allocations from the Finance Ministry.

“From the RM30 million allocation, the approved childcare centre applications involves the cost of RM5.5 million. The remaining amount we have requested the Finance Ministry to distribute to the nursery operators.

“... The Finance Ministry has allocated RM35 million (the balance from RM24.5 million plus the additional funding from the Finance Ministry) which is given in the form of special assistance for childcare centres under PENJANA to assist the operators,” she said while answering Yeoh's supplementary question on the remaining allocation fund. - BERNAMA