More after-school student care centres to be set up: PM Wong

Two initiatives also announced to help students thrive in a fast-changing world

- Nadine Chua

An after-school student care service founded by Singapore's four community self-help groups will open more centres in the coming years.

Making this announcement at Big Heart Student Care's 10th anniversary celebrations on Sept 14, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong noted that student care in Singapore has evolved beyond basic homework supervision.

"For those of us growing up in Singapore in the 70s, maybe even in the 80s, student care was virtually non-existent. We were left to our own devices, and we had to learn to be independent very quickly."

When they were first introduced, after-school care centres provided basic services. These days, centres constantly innovate, such as by introducing play-based learning and deploying mentors to help students build socio-emotional skills," PM Wong said.

Big Heart Student Care has enrolled over 17,000 pupils in the past 10 years. Thousands of staff, parents and children joined the celebrations at a carnival at D'Marquee in Downtown East on Sept 14.