KOTA BARU: The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry (KPWKM) is aiming for 10,000 participants to attend the Permata Basic Childcare Course (KAP) by year end.
Deputy Minister Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (pix) said so far, about 2,000 individuals, particularly single mothers and those in the B40 group, have registered for the course under the National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) which was launched in June, to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the economy.
“Under Penjana, participants will receive free training either through special classes or online courses, while previously, they had to pay RM900 for the course.
“This incentive is to assist single mothers and the B40 income group who have lost their jobs to acquire skills, while at the same time create more entrepreneurs in the childcare business,” she told reporters here today.
She said this at the closing ceremony of the KAP course series 3/2020 which was also attended by State Welfare, Family and Women Development Committee chairman Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi.
Siti Zailah said as of last June, a total of 5,072 nurseries nationwide have registered with the Social Welfare Department (JKM) adding that a one-off assistance of RM5,000 was channelled to its operators to cover operating costs in implementing standard operating procedures (SOPs) against Covid-19.
She said the Federal government had approved 10 community childcare centres, particularly in hospitals, to help frontliners manage their children more effectively while at work. — Bernama
