KUCHING: The Ministry of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development will take over Sedidik pre-schools and kindergartens from January next year.

According to its minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, the cabinet had approved for the ministry to take over from Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) to run and operate all the 83 Sedidik pre-schools and kindergartens in Sarawak.

She said the decision was a win-win situation to improve the quality of childhood education in the state.

“The cabinet has also approved RM1 million to repair 26 of the total 83 such premises across that state,” she told a press conference at her office yesterday, which was also attended by Assistant Minister of Women, Family and Childhood Education Rosey Yunus.

Fatimah said works to improve the 26 premises would start in September, and would be completed in three months.

“There would not be any drastic change under the ministry. We want to retain as much as possible how the pre-schools and kindergartens have been run.”

Fatimah also told reporters that it was the ministry’s desire to have all pre-school teachers to possess either a diploma or a degreee in Childhood Education by 2021.

“We want to focus on the quality of teachers of pre-schools and kindergartens. By 2021, they must have either a diploma or a degree in Childhood Education. They must also have the correct attitude and aptitude,” she said.

Fatimah also said the government was allocating RM5,000 in annual special grant to the 3,031 registered early childhood education centres all over the state.

The grant is meant for preparing a balanced meal for the physical development and growth of the pupils, their fun-learning and interactive activities, and for the purchase of learning materials at the centres.

The grant, she added, was also for parental involvement on their children’s education and learning, and professional development of teachers through lifelong learning.

So far, 2,745 centres have applied for the grant.