Government calls for Pre-School Anchor Operators proposal

[tate]

Government Opens Call for Proposals to Select New Pre-School Anchor Operators

Acting Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing announced the opening of the call for proposals for new Pre-School Anchor Operators today.

The Anchor Operator scheme for kindergarten and child care operators was first introduced in 2009. It provides funding support to eligible operators to scale up the provision of good quality and affordable early childhood care and education services for the mass market.

The eligibility criteria for the scheme have been reviewed to allow more potential operators to be considered. With the revised criteria, all interested pre-school operators that meet the eligibility criteria can submit proposals. The key eligibility criteria are:

• The Proposer must be a current operator of child care centres and/or kindergartens, with at least 10 centres or providing 1,000 pre-school places, and have a good track record of providing quality early childhood services.

• The Proposer must demonstrate strong regulatory compliance and governance, including having or establishing an independent governing body.

• The Proposer must be legally and financially liable for all operations under the Anchor Operator scheme.

• To ensure financial stability and sustainability, the Proposer must be prepared to provide and maintain a financial guarantee equivalent to 6 months of operating costs, or $10m, whichever is lower.

The grants, which are currently only available for the PAP Community Foundation and the National Trades Union Congress' My First Skool, will now be open to commercial pre-school operators as long as they set up a distinct company to ensure that the Government funds are used to benefit needy children and uplift the sector instead of boosting their profits.

Pre-school operators will also have to adhere to fee caps for their programmes. For example, the fees are a full-day childcare programme cannot exceed $720. These moves are part of the Government plans to increase pre-school places by 20,000 by 2018. A total of $3 billion will be pumped into the sector in the next five years.

Pre-school operators here have been watching closely the plan to expand the number of operators entitled to government grants, which could lead to a shake-up in the industry.

 

[Loofydralb]

This is clearly another scheme to reward their cronies.

Small operators excluded? So means only rich elite are eligible.

Criterias set to exclude non-crony?

Just another typical pork barrel like awarding licenses to cab companies, transport companies, driving schools, contruction etc.

 

[congo9]

This is clearly another scheme to reward their cronies.

Small operators excluded? So means only rich elite are eligible.

Criterias set to exclude non-crony?

Just another typical pork barrel like awarding licenses to cab companies, transport companies, driving schools, contruction etc.

Of course. Govt favor the rich business man.

 

[xingguy]

Maybe somewhere in small print there is a clause saying $2 company owned by PAP members are qualify as well.

 

[laksaboy]

Another scheme/scam/excuse for the PAP govt to siphon more money.

 

[Tuayapeh]

somehow i get the funny feeling that some pap crony company or some cheebye kiah in their gang will qualify for this thing....


fei shui bu liu wai ren tian.......

 

[chilakak]

This is clearly another scheme to reward their cronies.

Small operators excluded? So means only rich elite are eligible.

Criterias set to exclude non-crony?

Just another typical pork barrel like awarding licenses to cab companies, transport companies, driving schools, contruction etc.

Exactly!! Another move by this chenghu to consolidate another industry into an oligopoly consisting of a handful of favoured players. Just like what they have done with the sectors you mentioned.
In the long run, the consumers will get screwed again as true competition is removed and choice is whittled down to a few select operators who will then behave in cartel fashion.
This move is just a lot of smoke to fool the typical short-sighted Singapore consumer.

Just like the announcement earlier this week about subsidies to aircondition preschools and retrofit rooms to allow for airconditioning. Everyone knows that the majority of preschools in Singapore are operated by either PCF or NTUC and that the bulk of these outlets are not yet airconditioned while the bulk of private preschools are already airconditioned. So who is using tax payer funds to subsidize themselves?!