This is part of the Singapore's OK (SOK) campaign which was first started during the Sars period in 2003 and revived in May, starting with hawker centres.

The National Environment Agency will assess those pre-schools that have indicated interest.

They have to meet criteria, including having programmes to teach children good toilet and personal hygiene practices, to clean and disinfect premises, including toys and mattresses.

The ministries that license these pre-schools will conduct regular checks to ensure that standards are maintained.

There are 1,255 pre-schools in Singapore, comprising 500 kindergartens licensed by the Ministry of Education and 755 childcare centres licensed by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS).

A first batch of 27 pre-schools have attained the SOK status. Among them are Learning Vision's chain of 22 childcare centres. Its branch at the Aviva Building in the Shenton Way area was the first of the lot to get its decal at an event on Tuesday.