Licensing And Suitability Checks For Persons Caring For Children In Private Educational Facilities Which Provide Accommodation And Educational Support

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Social and Family Development in light of the alleged abuse of pupils at a private educational facility providing accommodation and educational support (a) which agency regulates such hybrid facilities; (b) why are persons exercising daily care over children not subject to common licensing, suitability and safeguarding requirements; and (c) whether a registry and risk-based inspection regime will be established.

Answer

1. The Member may wish to refer to the previous written reply to Question No 35 by Member Ng Shi Xuan of the Order Paper on 4 August 2026, which concerned the same case.

 2. As explained then, the facility concerned is a private accommodation facility and not an educational institution. Even though it provides accommodation services, it does not fall under the regulatory ambit of the Social Residential Homes Act, as it does not provide care to highly vulnerable clients, such as children receiving rehabilitation or protection.

3. It is not practical to create a regulatory regime for every setting or activity involving children. Instead, the Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA) and other offences within the Penal Code, act as a broad framework to deter against child abuse and to punish those who flout the law. It is already an offence for a person to ill-treat the child if he has custody, charge or care of a child. Parents should also exercise due diligence by making reasonable checks on their choice of service provider and monitor their child's well-being.

4. As shared in previous replies by Ministry of Home Affairs, jobs involving contact with children and young persons under the purview of public agencies already require screening for past offences. The Government has also been considering a framework to expand the scope of screening to cover more types of jobs involving contact with children and young persons. We will share more details when ready.

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked this Parliamentary Question because this case raises a broader concern about businesses and such facilities. Perhaps using legal acrobatics to fall outside established regulatory frameworks. So, has regulation kept pace with some of these hybrid business models and how will the Government ensure that future operators cannot evade child safeguarding requirements simply by structuring or describing their services differently?

Answer

1. Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for his question. I think the question is a very valid one. The market will continue to evolve and find new ways of meeting market demand and to capture new sections of the market. And therefore, it may not be practical for the Government to go in and regulate every single sector. Some of these sectors may still be immature, may still be developing, may be transient. What the Government will regulate are more mature, stable, broad-based sectors, which the majority of Singaporeans consume.

2. But then, what is the underlying safety net? And as I explained in my main reply, I think the CYPA, as well as the Penal Code, then provides that the ultimate safety net at the bottom to ensure that anyone providing services that concerns children, that concerns young persons, will then be subject to those laws to protect and take care of our children.

3. I think that is that layer of deterrence that ensures that anyone who wants to, perhaps, explore alternative and creative ways of business, will still be subject to those laws.

4. I just want to make a further point, which is that: ultimately, as I explained yesterday in Parliament, there is a multi-layered approach to this. Ultimately, the first line must be parents. In this case, this was an accommodation facility, where many foreigners used to send some of their children for schooling in Singapore. So, I think in this case, it is important for parents to really do due diligence and make checks to ensure that the service provider is reputable, reliable and possibly, even have someone here whom they can trust to drop in and make sure the services are rendered as promised.

5. Another layer useful to consider here are our preschools and schools. In this case, actually, the report was made by a school teacher who sighted the child. I think that forms another layer. And in this case, that layer proved useful. We hope the screening framework, when we eventually are able to introduce it, will be able to provide another reliable layer as well.