Preschool attended by Megan Khung for children from lower-income families to shut down end-2025 due to declining enrolment

A preschool centre for children from lower-income families, operated by Beyond Social Services (BSS), will close by the end of 2025.

The Healthy Start Child Development Centre (HSCDC) in Bukit Merah was the preschool that four-year-old Megan Khung attended before her death in 2020.

In a statement on Oct 14, BSS said that HSCDC will wind down due to declining enrolment, which had fallen from more than 50 children in 2018 to just 14 in 2024.

Referrals have decreased as families relocated due to housing redevelopment, the organisation added.

More affordable and accessible preschools have become available in Bukit Merah and other areas, reducing the need for a specialised centre like HSCDC, said BSS.

HSCDC opened in 2002, after a community survey in the Henderson and Bukit Merah estates found that many children were at risk due to inadequate childcare, parental incarceration or leaving school early.

The organisation added that it plans to redirect its resources towards community-rooted initiatives.

"Reinvesting in community-rooted support can help families build predictable routines, strengthen caregiving capacity and nurture children's readiness for school — complementing, not duplicating, existing pre-school services," said BSS.

It added that it has begun engaging parents and caregivers to co-design the next phase of its family support work as HSCDC winds down.

In 2019, teachers at HSCDC as well as social workers had tried to help Megan after discovering bruises on her in preschool. The girl had been abused to death by her mother and the woman's boyfriend.

The woman Foo Li Ping was sentenced to 19 years' jail on April 3, while her then-boyfriend Wong Shi Xiang was sentenced to 30 years' jail and 17 strokes of the cane.

On Oct 23, an independent review panel found a series of breaches by agencies in the handling of Megan's case, including a Child Protective Service officer failing to log a call from the girl's pre-school seeking help, and police officers not following procedure.

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Preschool attendance issues persist 

BSS also pointed out in their statement that despite better accessibility of preschools, other challenges like irregular preschool attendance persist.

While 85 per cent of ComLink+ families had enrolled their children aged three to six in pre-school in 2023, only 26 per cent maintained an attendance rate above 75 per cent, according to the Ministry of Social and Family Development's Supporting Lower-Income Households Trends Report 2024.

The ComLink+ scheme was launched in 2023 for low-income families with children to get financial incentives and other support if they take steps to better their lives.

BSS front-line staff observed that families struggle with barriers such as transport issues and irregular work hours, or trouble with balancing financial stress and emotional exhaustion.

These factors often disrupt attendance and impact children's development, it said.

These challenges are not a reflection of parental neglect and instead may reflect deeper structural and social issues, BSS added.

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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com