MOE appoints 4 student care operators to replace Little Professors; will cover 2 months of fees
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The Little Professors Learning Centre at Block 835 Jurong West Street 81 pictured on Feb 14, 2025.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
SINGAPORE – Four student care operators have been appointed by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to provide after-school care to 1,800 pupils in the eight primary schools affected by the termination of Little Professors Learning Centre’s services.
The ministry will also cover two months’ worth of fees for the affected pupils from April to May as they transition to the new operators, it said in a statement on March 30.
They will begin services on April 6, it added.
Operator Nascans will serve four schools – Kranji Primary, Punggol Cove Primary, Waterway Primary and Westwood Primary.
The Young Men’s Christian Association of Singapore will operate student care services in Jing Shan Primary and White Sands Primary. Anchor Green Primary and Hong Wen School will be served by Learning Studio Educare and Principals Academy Inc respectively.
The operators will also provide Kindergarten Care (KCare) services to primary schools with MOE kindergartens.
MOE said it had expedited the sourcing for replacement operators so that regular after-school care services can resume.
It made its final decision after assessing 11 companies’ bids, including existing operators with experience and a good track record in delivering after-school care services.
The Straits Times first reported on Feb 14 that 54 employees had lodged reports over unpaid January salaries and Central Provident Fund contributions.
As at March 13, Little Professors faced 123 salary claims from former employees who were informed on Feb 13 that their employment contracts were no longer considered valid and that they could resign without serving notice.
Several parents also discovered that they had been double-charged via GIRO deductions for their children’s February student care fees.
MOE terminated Little Professors’ services for the eight schools on Feb 14 due to “contractual breaches” and filed a police report over the anomalies in GIRO deductions reported by parents.
The new fees charged by the replacement operators are comparable to those of student care and KCare in other primary schools and MOE kindergartens, but are generally higher than Little Professors’, MOE said.
Except for Kranji Primary School, whose new student care fees will be $5 lower than before at $290, the other schools’ student care fees will range from $250 to $320. KCare will cost between $400 and $425.
Under Little Professors, fees were between $234.60 and $295 for student care services, while KCare costs ranged between $346.80 and $360.
Staff from the affected primary schools had been helping to cover the after-school care after the termination of the contracts in February. Affected parents did not have to pay for the services then.
To help with the transition to the new operators, the ministry will cover fees for April and May and bear the difference in fees for June.
This means that for that month, if the new fees charged are higher, parents will pay only the fees previously charged by Little Professors.
MOE said pupils from lower-income families can still tap Student Care Fee Assistance and KCare subsidies to cover most of the fee increase, if any, beyond June.
A parent, who wanted to be known only as Ms Serene, said she is thankful for the staff at Jing Shan Primary, who did their best to provide student care support, including during the school holidays in March.
She said that while she believes the new operators have the capability and experience, she is concerned about buying new uniforms and paying higher fees each month.
“I appreciate that MOE will cover the two months, but for a single mum of three kids, like me, it would be difficult for me to pay upfront again,” Ms Serene said.
Another parent, Mrs Clara Tan, whose Primary 3 son is from Anchor Green Primary, is also worried about the fee increase. Little Professors charged $250, but the new operator, Learning Studio Educare, will charge $320.
“Hopefully, they will be a lot better in terms of care and food, as there’s a huge jump in cost. I anticipated it but didn’t expect it to be $70,” she said.
