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PCF kindergarten in Bedok fines late parents
By Qiuyi Tan | Posted: 07 February 2011 2202 hrs
SINGAPORE : A PAP Community Foundation (PCF) kindergarten in Bedok has threatened to fine parents who pick up their kids late from class.
The fine is S$2 for every five minutes that they are late.
While childcare centres are known to have such policies, this practice is uncommon in a kindergarten.
The PCF kindergarten in Block 30, Upper Changi Road said it decided to do something when it faced repeated situations when parents picked up their kids late from school.
It said this affected lunch and dinner breaks of teachers and also affected those on evening course.
In a circular to parents last month, the principal of the kindergarten said it will charge S$2 for every five minutes that they are late.
The PAP Community Foundation told MediaCorp that it knew of the situation but leaves operational matters to the kindergartens themselves to decide.
It added that this late charge is specific to the Bedok branch, and is not a PCF-wide policy.
Not all parents are against the penalty.
One parent said: "This works out to forty cents a minute."
Another added: "I have seen that some parents like to take advantage of the situation, seeing that the principals and teachers stay behind...to say take care of the children for a while.
"For me, it is fair enough, because that is what makes it really work. If they put it at S$1, I do not think it will (work), because it is not much. Every five-minute extension of S$2, I think is very good."
The kindergarten first imposed the penalty last May - but for a smaller amount, and only when parents are late for more than 15 minutes.
It added it has about 10 cases where the parents are late by about two to three hours at times.
One parent said: "For those who have savings, S$2 is no problem for them. If (you are) like me, with no savings, S$2 is (a) problem also."
A senior kindergarten staff said that despite the warnings, no fines have been collected so far.
However, one parent commented: "Putting a fine on late parents is not the solution. They should get parent volunteers after school hours to say, stay back for an hour? Because...money is not a problem, so a fine is not a solution."
Meanwhile, another parent noted: "A fine should be a last resort for any kindergarten to come up with."
My First Skool, which provides infant care to kindergarten, said it also imposes a penalty on parents who are late. But it said it only imposes a penalty after the fourth time.
- CNA/ms