KUCHING: The Ministry of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development is thinking of coming up with a single form to simplify the registration process for new daycare centres and kindergartens.

Its minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said that if there was only one form used, there would not be any need for new daycare centres and kindergartens operators to fill in different types of forms with various technical agencies if they want to register.

“For now, if new daycare centres and kindergartens want to register for operation, they need to fill in many types of registration forms from the technical agencies.

“We are working on a way to come up with a single form that covers all the requirements needed by the various technical agencies,” she added when speaking to reporters at her office today.

Fatimah was chairing a meeting on the proposed single form registration between the technical agencies involved in the registration of new daycare centres and kindergartens.

However, she pointed out that the proposed single form registration system was not a new type of form, but rather an upgrade of an existing one.

“We are still in the process of finalising the form and the idea of coming up with a single form registration came after my ministry have taken steps to review the standard operating procedures (SOP) for daycare centres and kindergartens through a workshop held last week from June 23 – 24 at the Waterfront Hotel with technical agencies,” she said.

Among the technical agencies that were involved in the workshop were the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, Sarawak Social Welfare Department (JKMS), Department of Land and Survey (Headquarters), State Health Department (JKNS), Kuching City South Council (MBKS), Kuching City North Commission (DBKU), Fire and Rescue Department and the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA).

The workshop was aimed at reviewing the existing procedures for the registration application process for daycare centres and kindergartens and identifying more practical and quick-to-implement methods.

As a result of the workshop, for registration of daycare centres and kindergartens, Fatimah said that all advocacy, submission of documents, document review and submission of documents should be made at the Divisional Community Welfare Office (PKMB).

“A complete checklist and briefing on the requirements of all technical agencies will also be made for all officers who manage the registration of daycare centres and kindergartens in each PKMB.

“My ministry expects any party who wishes to operate daycare centres and kindergartens to ensure that all procedures are complied with and approved before they can start operations,” she said.

Fatimah said that her ministry was very serious about ensuring that all daycare centres and kindergartens were registered as it involved the safety of children.

Apart from that, she also said that if daycare centres and kindergartens were registered, they would be eligible for assistance including a RM5,000 Annual Special Gran for each Early Childhood Education Institution.