THE Penang government is assisting the operators of nurseries, kindergartens and nursing centres in the state in their applications to legalise their business.
State Housing, Local Government, Country and Town Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo noted the importance of the legalisation process for nurseries, kindergartens and nursing centres.
“We are concerned over the issues of these operators, who are facing their difficulties in obtaining the registration certificates.
“In the first phase process, 45 of them had already obtained the registration certificates, but we will extend the application period for others as well.
“There are 319 nurseries, kindergartens and care centres involved in the process, but 17 had already canceled their applications due to various reasons, leaving only 302 involved.
“To date, there are still 257 centres that have yet to undergo the application process. Hence, we have decided to extend the application deadline, which ended on Dec 31 last year,” he told reporters after visiting the Children’s Protection Home today.
Penang Island City Council (MBPP) secretary A.Rajendran, who was present, said the council was working to ensure the process was carried out smoothly.
“A total of 181 unlicenced nurseries, kindergartens and nursing centres have been identified on Penang island, of which 14 had been legalised while the remaining are still under consideration process,” he said.
In another development, Jagdeep said the state has provided a total of 131,391 various types of affordable housing units.
“We hope to reach 220,000 units by 2030 while priority will be given to the eligible ones.
“The Selection and Process Enhancement Committee (SPEC) has conducted 66 meetings, with a total of 15 assemblymen participating in the selection process,” he said.
Also present during the visit was Jagdeep’s mother Datin Seri Gurmit Kaur.
Story by Edmund Lee
Pix by Alissala Thian