SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Education (MOE) is reviewing how student care operators are appointed after terminating one operator's contract at eight primary schools last week, affecting around 1,800 students.
Speaking to media during a visit on Friday (Feb 20) to one of the schools, Jing Shan Primary School, MOE deputy director-general of education and director of schools Tan Chen Kee said the ministry is now looking at whether its vetting process needs to be tightened.
"We are reviewing how we are appointing the operators. Will it be more stringent, or will there be other criteria that we put in? These are things that we are discussing at the moment," she said.
Currently, student care operators are selected through a public tender process. Potential operators are assessed on their financial viability, programmes, staff strength and costs. Once appointed, they are regularly evaluated by schools, with MOE stepping in if serious breaches occur.
"It would also be useful for us, as well as other agencies, to also look at the whole process and what the gaps there could be," said Mrs Tan. "And then we’ll work together for an inter-agency response to strengthening this."
When student care operators are appointed, they are regularly evaluated by the schools, and MOE gets involved when there are serious breaches, she shared.
Student care operator Little Professors Learning Centre (LPLC) had its services terminated last Saturday following investigations into unpaid staff salaries and double deductions from parents' GIRO accounts. A police report has since been filed over the fee anomalies.
The private operator ran student care centres at Anchor Green, Jing Shan, Kranji, Punggol Cove, Waterway, Westwood, Hong Wen and White Sands primary schools. It also provided Kindergarten Care – after-school care for MOE Kindergartens – at six of those schools.
LPLC was first appointed as a student care operator in 2016 at Punggol View Primary School, with contracts at the eight affected schools beginning in 2021.
MOE said it first learnt of the situation on Feb 9, when "operational issues" emerged, including non-payment of salaries and the company director becoming uncontactable. The ministry worked with schools to reach out to LPLC staff and reiterate expectations of service.
“We monitored the situation but towards the end of the week, we recognised that it probably will not happen and that LPLC is probably unable to provide the service and care for the children,” said Mrs Tan.
Last Friday, reports from parents about double GIRO deductions – in numbers significant enough to rule out a technical glitch – prompted MOE to terminate the contract and refer the matter to police.
Before the incident, MOE had received no complaints about LPLC's services or of the company double-charging parents, Mrs Tan said. Schools have urged affected parents to file their own police reports.
When asked about claims from some parents that double deductions occurred as far back as 2024 – drawn from both bank accounts and their children's Child Development Accounts – Mrs Tan said the ministry was still gathering facts. "I can't give you an answer right now because it's something that we are looking into."
MOE is working towards appointing a replacement operator as soon as possible, though Mrs Tan did not commit to a timeline.
Deputy Director-General of Education (Schools) and Director of Schools, Mrs Tan Chen Kee speaks to the media at Jing Shan Primary School on Feb 20, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
With LPLC staff unable to continue after the termination was announced, teachers at affected schools have taken over student care duties.
“We are also working with schools to make sure that we activate other resources so that we minimise the imposition on the school staff,” Mrs Tan said.
MOE is exploring whether former LPLC staff members would be willing to continue in a temporary capacity. The ministry is working with the Ministry of Manpower and the National Trades Union Congress on support for affected LPLC employees, including job matching services.
At Jing Shan Primary, where LPLC was in the final year of its contract, around 210 primary school students and 80 kindergarten children were affected. Principal Sharon Siew said the school deployed about 10 teachers for the student care centre and six for KCare.
With roughly 90 teachers on staff, the school formed nine teams, each rostered once every two weeks. The workload has been manageable, said Mrs Siew, adding that she hopes a new operator will be appointed before the arrangement becomes a strain.
To ease the load on teachers, students from all levels now attend after-school activities together in the school hall – a shift from the previous practice of grouping them by level.
Principal of Jing Shan Primary School, Mrs Sharon Siew, during a media interview on Feb 20, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
Mr Wang Weizhong, parent of a Primary 2 child in Jing Shan, said he only discovered a second GIRO deduction of around S$230 after receiving the school's termination notice on Feb 14. He had also experienced a double deduction in June last year, which was refunded after he flagged it.
“It came as a shock because suddenly overnight we had to think about what’s going to happen to my kid now that there is no student care,” he said.
He was, however, appreciative of how quickly schools and MOE responded. "We were very thankful that the school, MOE as well as all the staff that came together to make sure that our child still had a proper place to go to after school.”
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Speaking to media during a visit on Friday (Feb 20) to one of the schools, Jing Shan Primary School, MOE deputy director-general of education and director of schools Tan Chen Kee said the ministry is now looking at whether its vetting process needs to be tightened.
"We are reviewing how we are appointing the operators. Will it be more stringent, or will there be other criteria that we put in? These are things that we are discussing at the moment," she said.
Currently, student care operators are selected through a public tender process. Potential operators are assessed on their financial viability, programmes, staff strength and costs. Once appointed, they are regularly evaluated by schools, with MOE stepping in if serious breaches occur.
"It would also be useful for us, as well as other agencies, to also look at the whole process and what the gaps there could be," said Mrs Tan. "And then we’ll work together for an inter-agency response to strengthening this."
When student care operators are appointed, they are regularly evaluated by the schools, and MOE gets involved when there are serious breaches, she shared.
HOW THE SITUATION UNFOLDED
Student care operator Little Professors Learning Centre (LPLC) had its services terminated last Saturday following investigations into unpaid staff salaries and double deductions from parents' GIRO accounts. A police report has since been filed over the fee anomalies.
The private operator ran student care centres at Anchor Green, Jing Shan, Kranji, Punggol Cove, Waterway, Westwood, Hong Wen and White Sands primary schools. It also provided Kindergarten Care – after-school care for MOE Kindergartens – at six of those schools.
LPLC was first appointed as a student care operator in 2016 at Punggol View Primary School, with contracts at the eight affected schools beginning in 2021.
MOE said it first learnt of the situation on Feb 9, when "operational issues" emerged, including non-payment of salaries and the company director becoming uncontactable. The ministry worked with schools to reach out to LPLC staff and reiterate expectations of service.
“We monitored the situation but towards the end of the week, we recognised that it probably will not happen and that LPLC is probably unable to provide the service and care for the children,” said Mrs Tan.
Last Friday, reports from parents about double GIRO deductions – in numbers significant enough to rule out a technical glitch – prompted MOE to terminate the contract and refer the matter to police.
Before the incident, MOE had received no complaints about LPLC's services or of the company double-charging parents, Mrs Tan said. Schools have urged affected parents to file their own police reports.
When asked about claims from some parents that double deductions occurred as far back as 2024 – drawn from both bank accounts and their children's Child Development Accounts – Mrs Tan said the ministry was still gathering facts. "I can't give you an answer right now because it's something that we are looking into."
MOE is working towards appointing a replacement operator as soon as possible, though Mrs Tan did not commit to a timeline.
Deputy Director-General of Education (Schools) and Director of Schools, Mrs Tan Chen Kee speaks to the media at Jing Shan Primary School on Feb 20, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
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TEACHERS STEP IN
With LPLC staff unable to continue after the termination was announced, teachers at affected schools have taken over student care duties.
“We are also working with schools to make sure that we activate other resources so that we minimise the imposition on the school staff,” Mrs Tan said.
MOE is exploring whether former LPLC staff members would be willing to continue in a temporary capacity. The ministry is working with the Ministry of Manpower and the National Trades Union Congress on support for affected LPLC employees, including job matching services.
At Jing Shan Primary, where LPLC was in the final year of its contract, around 210 primary school students and 80 kindergarten children were affected. Principal Sharon Siew said the school deployed about 10 teachers for the student care centre and six for KCare.
With roughly 90 teachers on staff, the school formed nine teams, each rostered once every two weeks. The workload has been manageable, said Mrs Siew, adding that she hopes a new operator will be appointed before the arrangement becomes a strain.
To ease the load on teachers, students from all levels now attend after-school activities together in the school hall – a shift from the previous practice of grouping them by level.
Principal of Jing Shan Primary School, Mrs Sharon Siew, during a media interview on Feb 20, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
Mr Wang Weizhong, parent of a Primary 2 child in Jing Shan, said he only discovered a second GIRO deduction of around S$230 after receiving the school's termination notice on Feb 14. He had also experienced a double deduction in June last year, which was refunded after he flagged it.
“It came as a shock because suddenly overnight we had to think about what’s going to happen to my kid now that there is no student care,” he said.
He was, however, appreciative of how quickly schools and MOE responded. "We were very thankful that the school, MOE as well as all the staff that came together to make sure that our child still had a proper place to go to after school.”
Continue reading...