KUCHING: The Ministry of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development has introduced a consolidated form to expedite the registration process for private ‘taska’ (nurseries) and kindergartens to open.

According to its minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, the form would include the latest standard operating procedures (SOPs) and also conditions set by each technical agency as guidelines for every private taska and kindergarten operator.

“If these childcare centres are not registered, they would not be able to enjoy facilities provided by the state government, such as the annual grant of RM5,000.

“This latest SOP is intended to make the registration process of these centres easier, and it must be adhered to by all,” she told a press conference at her office in Bangunan Baitulmakmur in Petra Jaya here yesterday.

Fatimah stressed the purpose of the updated SOP was to ensure the safety of the children when inside the premises, and not to make life difficult for the operators.

On the consolidated forms, she said those for the registration of the private taskas would be made available at Welfare Department very soon, while those for the registration of private kindergartens could be obtained from Education Department of Sarawak.

A soft copy of the consolidated form would also be uploaded onto the iSarawakCare application, she added.

“All operators are also reminded to register their businesses, as strict action under Child Care Centre Act 1984 (Act 208) could be taken against them should they fail to do so.”