SINGAPORE - The number of school-based student care centres has been more than tripled from 50 to 162 over the last six years, with 9 per cent of all primary school pupils now enrolled in such centres.
Education Minister (Schools) Ng Chee Meng gave the update in Parliament on Monday (Feb 5), in response to Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines GRC).
There are now 21,000 pupils enrolled in these centres, compared to 3,000 in 2012, he added. There are also about 11,000 pupils enrolled in 261 community-based student care centres, usually located in bomb shelters, community centres and the void decks of Housing Board flats, and some have spare capacity, he said.
Mr Ng said the Ministry of Education (MOE) is on track to have such centres in all primary schools by end 2020.
In response, Mr Choo said he has feedback from parents that some schools have to prioritise after-school student care for lower primary pupils, which could cause inconvenience for parents, and asked if the expansion of such centres will cater to pupils of all levels.
Mr Ng said the size of the waitlist for centres at different schools varies, but the average number remains low.
Where demand is high, schools will work with centre operators to see how the number of classrooms can be expanded to cater to this demand. However, it is important to keep in mind that such expansion does not compromise on the quality of programmes, he added.
In response to a question from Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar (Ang Mo Kio GRC) on whether the centres will be subjected to an accreditation framework, Mr Ng said that various authorities, including MOE and the Ministry of Social and Family Development, have introduced training programmes for staff to ensure quality in such centres.
