New student care operators to provide security deposits after Little Professors Learning Centre case

SINGAPORE: Newly appointed student care and kindergarten care operators will be required to provide a security deposit from December, as the Ministry of Education (MOE) tightens safeguards following the termination of Little Professors Learning Centre's (LPLC) contracts earlier this year.

The deposit can be drawn on to mitigate financial losses if an operator's business fails, Education Minister Desmond Lee said in a written reply to a parliamentary question on Tuesday (Sep 8).

MOE has also started conducting more regular checks on the financial health of student care and kindergarten care operators to detect signs of financial difficulties earlier.

"This will enable MOE to work with operators earlier if any concerns arise," Mr Lee said.

The ministry has also tightened safeguards against unauthorised GIRO deductions.

Operators must now clearly state in their contracts with parents the purposes for which GIRO deductions may be made, and will only be allowed to make deductions for those purposes.

Operators who make unauthorised deductions may have their services suspended or terminated, Mr Lee said.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is also working with the Association of Banks in Singapore and its member banks to review how safeguards for GIRO payments can be strengthened.

The tighter safeguards follow several issues that emerged at LPLC earlier this year, which led MOE to terminate the operator's student care and kindergarten care contracts in February.

The ministry had said at the time that it was reviewing how student care operators were appointed and whether its vetting processes needed to be tightened.

Before the incident, student care operators were selected through a public tender process and assessed on factors including their financial viability, programmes, staffing and costs. They were also regularly evaluated by schools after being appointed.

Around 1,800 students across eight primary schools were affected after the operator ran into problems including unpaid staff salaries and double deductions from parents' GIRO accounts.

In February, parents at schools served by LPLC reported double GIRO deductions, with some saying money had been deducted from both their bank accounts and their children's Child Development Accounts.

MOE said then that the number of reports was significant enough to rule out a technical glitch. A police report was subsequently filed over the fee anomalies.

Police investigations are still ongoing, Mr Lee said on Tuesday, adding that parents who have yet to recover money following the termination of LPLC's contracts can seek legal recourse through the Small Claims Tribunals.