KUCHING: Parents who send their children to taska and nurseries registered under the Sarawak Social Welfare Department can apply for a subsidy of RM180 from the department.
In announcing this, Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said the subsidy was implemented under the previous Barisan Nasional government.
“This is one of the efforts by the state government to help reduce the financial burdens faced by parents,” she said when met by reporters after inspecting the implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the reopening of Taska Cahaya Horizons at Green Heights here on Tuesday (June 9).
Advising parents not to underestimate their children’s capability to adhere to social distancing rules at taska, Fatimah said they should discuss with taska operators the precautionary strategies and tactics to be taken in order to ensure the safety of the children.
“For example, when I visited the children in the class just now, they are able to comply with the rules.
“Parents need to adhere to the specific time and hours for sending and fetching children at the nursery.
“To limit the movement of the parents and children, parents are also given a specific time and hours to fetch their children. They also need to fill the logbook when sending their children,” she added.
Fatimah also said taska and nursery operators could now utilise the RM5000 Special Annual Grant (GTK) for Early Childhood Education Institutions to meet their operational costs.
She pointed out those huge financial challenges that taska operators had to face after the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) which began on March 18 included the paying of rentals and salaries of the teachers, staff and caregivers.
“Operators were unable to collect fees from parents as all the taska and nurseries were instructed to close in April and May during the MCO period.
“With the GTK, operators can buy cleaning and sanitisation necessities to comply with the SOPs,” she added.
