Govt Mulls No Cctv No Licence Renewal For Childcare Centres

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Childcare centres are required by law to install CCTV systems but some still have not done so, says minister Nancy Shukri. (Bernama pic)PETALING JAYA: The installation of closed circuit TV (CCTV) systems might be made a mandatory condition for renewing childcare centre licences in view of cases of child abuse at these premises, a federal minister said today.
A meeting of government officials will be held tomorrow to review the process of not renewing the licences of childcare centres that do not install CCTVs, said the minister for women, family and community development, Nancy Shukri, Bernama reported.
Nancy Shukri.She said the government had previously stipulated that CCTVs were required under the Child Care Centre Act and the child care centre regulations.
“There are those who have not installed CCTVs even after being asked to comply. So we will (meet with agencies, departments and industry players tomorrow) on how to take action by not renewing the licences of centres without CCTVs,” she said at a media conference in Semantan, Sarawak.
“The installation cost should not be an issue as CCTVs are quite cheaply available. So we want to hear feedback and how to fine-tune this before we implement it,” she added.
She said the closure of childcare centres linked to abuse cases must be studied in detail as it will affect working parents who send their children to those centres. “We will burden other parents so we can’t just close it down because of one case,” Nancy said.
She said there were 3,767 cases of children needing protection and care in the first half of this year alone.
Last Friday, she was reported to have said that her ministry was planning to enforce the installation of CCTVs at every registered childcare centre to curb child abuse cases. - FMT

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