New Student-Care Operators in Singapore Must Provide Security Deposits After Little Professors Case

Singapore will require newly appointed student-care and kindergarten-care operators to provide security deposits from December, after financial problems at Little Professors Learning Centre exposed weaknesses in existing safeguards.

Education Minister Desmond Lee said in a written parliamentary reply that the deposit could help limit financial losses if an operator’s business failed. The Ministry of Education has also begun checking operators’ financial health more regularly so it can identify signs of difficulty earlier and intervene sooner.

The ministry has tightened controls over GIRO deductions as well. Operators must clearly state in contracts with parents the purposes for which deductions may be made, and they may deduct money only for those purposes. Unauthorised deductions could result in the suspension or termination of an operator’s services. The Monetary Authority of Singapore is working with the Association of Banks in Singapore and member banks to review further safeguards for GIRO payments.

The changes follow the termination of Little Professors Learning Centre’s student-care and kindergarten-care contracts in February. The operator had faced problems including unpaid staff salaries and double deductions from parents’ GIRO accounts. About 1,800 students at eight primary schools were affected.

Some parents said money had been deducted from both their bank accounts and their children’s Child Development Accounts. The Ministry of Education said the number of reports was large enough to rule out a technical glitch, and police filed a report over the fee anomalies. Police investigations remain ongoing. Parents who have not recovered money can seek legal recourse through the Small Claims Tribunals.

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This will enable MOE to work with operators earlier if any concerns arise.