Student Care Centres in Schools: New Safeguards for Parents

If your child attends a student care centre inside a primary school, the rules around the operator have tightened since February 2026, when MOE ended the contracts of Little Professors Learning Centre Pte. Ltd. (LPLC). Operators must now state in parents' contracts what GIRO deductions are for and may deduct only for those purposes. From December 2026, newly appointed operators must also lodge a security deposit worth about one month of the centre's total fees. And at the National Day Rally in August, the Government said it will expand school-based student care, improve its quality and keep fees affordable.

What the changes do not do matters as much. MOE describes the deposit as protection against MOE's own losses if an operator fails; it has not said the deposit refunds fees that parents paid in advance. This guide explains the new rules and what you can check in your own contract.

What happened, and what has MOE changed?

In a 2 March 2026 parliamentary reply, MOE said it was first alerted to issues at LPLC centres in February. Schools deployed staff and relief manpower so that every affected school could keep providing after-school care, and MOE filed a police report over unauthorised GIRO deductions. MOE also said that, before LPLC, it had never had cause to terminate a school-based SCC or KCare operator.

The 8 September reply lists three changes for SCC and KCare operators:

1. More regular checks on operators' financial health, so MOE can spot early signs of difficulty and step in sooner.
2. A security deposit from December 2026 for newly appointed operators, which can be drawn on if an operator's business fails.
3. Tighter GIRO rules: operators must state in their contracts with parents the purposes for which GIRO deductions may be made, and may deduct only for those purposes.

Does the new security deposit protect my fees?

Not directly, on MOE's own description. The 6 October reply says the deposit applies to new SCC contracts starting from December 2026, including existing operators who win new contracts, and is sized at about one month of the centre's total fees. It is tiered by enrolment, so smaller centres lodge less, and operators must provide it as a letter of guarantee from a financial institution, which the reply says is due six months from the start of the contract.

MOE says the deposit "is intended to mitigate financial losses incurred by MOE" if an operator defaults, that MOE "will support affected students as appropriate", and that operators remain responsible for staff salaries. A Member of Parliament asked whether the deposit would cover refunds owed to parents; the reply does not say it will. Our reading: treat fees paid in advance as money you could lose if an operator collapses, and keep advance payments small.

How do the new GIRO rules help parents?

The change is narrow but useful. Your contract with a school-based operator should now say what GIRO can be used for, such as the monthly fee. A deduction for anything else is unauthorised, and MOE says operators who make unauthorised deductions may have their contracts suspended or terminated. The Monetary Authority of Singapore is working with the Association of Banks in Singapore and member banks on how GIRO safeguards can be strengthened more broadly; no outcome has been announced.

What can I do if a student care centre closes suddenly?

When LPLC's problems surfaced, MOE advised affected parents to cancel their GIRO arrangements immediately and to consider filing a claim with the Small Claims Tribunals, according to the 2 March reply. The 8 September reply repeats the Small Claims Tribunals advice and says police investigations are ongoing.

The Small Claims Tribunals page says the tribunals hear claims up to S$30,000, commonly involving goods and services. Keep every invoice, receipt, contract and bank statement so that a claim is possible.

A contract check for student care parents

Our checklist, built on the rules above:

1. Find the GIRO clause. It should name the purposes for deductions. If it does not, ask the operator why.
2. Check your bank statement each month against the invoice, and query any deduction outside the stated purposes straight away.
3. Limit advance payments to what the contract requires; on MOE's description, the deposit is not a refund fund for parents.
4. Keep records: contract, invoices, receipts and correspondence, in one folder.
5. Know who to tell: MOE's March reply says parents can raise concerns with centre staff, the school or MOE directly, and that MOE received 212 emails and calls about SCCs and KCare centres in 2025.
6. Ask about the year ahead: whether the school's operator contract is due for renewal, and what the centre does on school closure days, such as a haze closure. Our haze and school closure guide explains that school SCCs stay open for existing students if schools close.

For choosing a centre in the first place, see our guide to comparing student-care centres, and for younger children, Kindergarten Care or childcare.

Will there be more school-based student care places?

The Government says so, without numbers yet. In a 6 October 2026 reply on waiting lists, MOE said that, as announced at the National Day Rally 2026, the Government will expand capacity, improve the quality of care and keep fees affordable at school-based SCCs, and will share more details when ready. The reply did not give the number of schools with waiting lists. Our guide to NDR 2026 family support covers the rest of the package. More routines are in our routines topic.

Common questions