Professionalising nursery care

REFERRING to the death recently of two babies while under the care of their minders, as reported in “Majority of child minders unregistered” (Sunday Star, July 22), we urge the Deputy Prime Minister in her capacity as the Women, Family and Community Development Minister to review the national policy and strategies for the Taska (Taman Asuhan Kanak-kanak or childcare centre or nursery) sector, more specifically with regards to home-based childcare, taking into consideration the following, most of which can be implemented immediately if there is political will.

1. Review the early childhood care and education (ECCE) task force’s proposed regulations for home-based childcare centres as soon as possible and implement stringent safety and security safeguards in all these centres.

2. Amend the law which states that only those taking four children and above need to be registered with the Social Welfare Department (JKM). As long as any person takes in children for care for a fee, she or he must be registered. Exceptions can be made only where children are cared for by their immediate family members such as grandparents.

3. As a requirement for licensing, minders and childcare centre staff must undergo the basic childcare course which the ECCE task force recommended in 2017 to be made compulsory for certification of home-based childcare providers but is yet to be endorsed by JKM.

4. Once certified and registered, basic information on the licence or status of the registered childcare provider or centre should be put up on the free search portal www.asuhan.my or the ministry/JKM website.

5. Provide subsidies for unlicensed babysitters in poor urban or rural communities to attend the basic childcare home-based childcare course to qualify for the licence.

6. Provide parents and residents associations with a checklist (which can be downloaded from www.eccecounil.org) on how to choose home-based centres or babysitters that have met the standards required of them by the law.

7. Review the operations of the 15999 (Childline Malaysia) helpline as the key channel for parents, neighbours, residents associations and the public to report any form of child abuse. Support for child protection must be in place for the helpline to be effective.

8. Enlist the public’s help through the media to report any suspected illegal childcare services via www.asuhan.my.

9. Ensure that continuous training on nutrition, health, safety, security, child protection, first aid and child development is provided to unlicensed babysitters/nannies as part of their efforts towards attaining professionalism in childcare.

10. Enable a reporting system to draw up a blacklist of those who have a history of violence against children and/or who have abused children in the past.

11. Ensure that every home-based centre develops a child protection policy which includes behaviour protocols, and screening and prevention of abuse protocols which must be strictly implemented.

12. Throw the full force of the law at abusive babysitters and hold them fully accountable for their actions in hurting children in their care.

As a profession, early childhood care and education is as good as, or better than, other vocations. In fact, it is more critical as it is involved with nurturing Malaysia’s future generations.

We therefore urge the ministry to work with all ECCE NGOs, including the TASKA Rumah group, to move as one towards delivering quality childcare before more children are abused, injured or, worse, killed by untrained and unlicensed babysitters.

Young parents need support from their employers and the government as well to provide the best start in the first 1,000 days of their child’s life; that is the time when 90% of young brains are developing along with their social and emotional wellbeing.

Investing in their early years will mean investing in our future human capital. Such investment will meet at least 15 of the 17 United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for everyone.

Every child has a right to high quality early childhood care and education as promised in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Giving them high quality care at whatever age will allow them to thrive and develop to their fullest potential. It also means our country would spend less on child protection, rehabilitation and healthcare and more on actions to tackle other social ills.

DATIN PH WONG

Child Advocate

Childline Malaysia