ECDA to review financial penalties for errant preschool operators in wake of child mistreatment cases

SINGAPORE: The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) will look into whether errant preschool operators should receive harsher penalties for child mismanagement, learning from alleged abuse cases at two Kinderland centres.

The agency will also strengthen its investigation protocols and work with the National Institute of Early Childhood Development to improve training in child management strategies, said Ms Sun Xueling, Minister of State at the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

Ms Sun was on Monday (Sep 18) addressing more than 40 parliamentary questions about early childhood education, after videos of alleged child abuse were circulated on social media last month.

A 33-year-old former teacher at Kinderland Woodlands Mart, Lin Min, has been charged with ill-treating a 23-month-old child.

The operator of that preschool had its licence tenure reduced to six months and was fined S$5,000 (US$3,700), the maximum amount permitted under the law.

A preschool’s licence can be revoked “in the worst case”, said Ms Sun, noting that the current regulatory framework came into effect in 2019.

“With the experience gained in operationalising this regulatory framework, ECDA intends to strengthen the framework and review the provisions to see if penalties imposed on operators for child mismanagement should be enhanced, including whether financial penalties should be raised,” she told parliament.

Operators are required to put in place standard operating procedures and appropriate policies to maintain a safe environment for children. They must ensure that policies are implemented effectively and consistently.

Centres must carry out regular observations of staff-child interactions, intervening where necessary. For teachers who breach requirements, they may be issued warnings, barred from working in the sector or face criminal charges.

ECDA previously apologised for not removing former teacher Lin from classroom duties at Kinderland Woodlands Mart despite “the clear evidence and severity of the educator’s actions”.

“We will learn from this case,” Ms Sun said. “ECDA is reviewing its procedures to strengthen this protocol and ensure better oversight of cases under investigation.”