Childcare centres raise queries over tender rules

A NEW system for awarding Housing Board sites to private childcare centres has attracted keen interest from the operators.

The Straits Times understands that more than 50 of them attended a briefing yesterday held by the Early Childhood Development Agency and the Housing Board.

The briefing was organised to explain a new tender evaluation process which will consider a range of factors such as fees and quality of programmes when awarding HDB sites to private childcare operators. Previously, sites went to the highest bidders.

While childcare operators welcome the new system, some have expressed concerns over how they can strike a balance between quality and costs. Others asked how the quality of programmes would be assessed and monitored.

These concerns were raised at the briefing, operators told The Straits Times.

The changes, which came into effect on Friday, will apply to two sites - Block 22A, Teban Gardens Road and Block 168D, Punggol Field. These two sites are open for bidding until July 5.

Under the new evaluation process, which is aimed at keeping childcare affordable, the bid price will make up half of the score.

The remaining score will come from how affordable fees are (20 per cent); the operator's track record (15 per cent); the quality of its programmes (10 per cent); and whether it helps the disadvantaged and promotes community integration (5 per cent).

For instance, when it comes to affordability, operators are advised to keep their proposed fees not higher than 8 per cent of the median fee charged by private operators, which is $748 a month for a full-day childcare programme at HDB premises.

When submitting their proposals, operators have to say how much they will charge for the next three years. They will be expected to stick to this price after being awarded a site.

Operators who keep fee increments within 5 per cent a year will also get "extra" points under the scoring system.

"This is the right step forward, but the criteria should be tweaked. If you drive the costs too low, quality will definitely be affected," said Mr Francis Ng, 49, founder of childcare centre chain Carpe Diem, which has 25 childcare centres islandwide.

Branch director of Generation Kidz@Limau Alice Ow said: "Perhaps more emphasis can be placed on the quality of the programmes. Bid price counts for half of the points now, maybe that can be lowered to 30 per cent."

Operators also asked how the quality of programmes will be assessed. Said Ms Ow: "What is the benchmark of a 'good-quality' programme? The guidelines are clear but the judging criteria are still quite vague."

Operators were told by officials yesterday that inspections will be carried out to ensure the quality of the programmes.

Close to 700 of the 1,051 childcare centres in Singapore are commercially run. The rest are run by non-profit operators.

Meanwhile, parents living near the first two sites to come under the new process were looking forward to more affordable childcare services.

Punggol resident Tina Toh, 28, a housewife and mother of two, said: "Lower fees will be good. If you look at the private pre-schools now, the fees are very high - they can go up to more than $1000 a month.

"Clearly only higher-income families can afford that."

limyihan@sph.com.sg

ateng@sph.com.sg

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