ISKANDAR PUTERI – Although both are executives at their respective companies with a total household income of more than RM10,000 a month, the increase in the daycare charges for the schooling year of 2023 has left a couple feeling the pinch.
As working parents, they opted to send their two sons, aged 6 and 2, to a childcare centre here in the thriving economic zone of Iskandar Puteri, west of Johor Baru.
They have been especially feeling the pinch since they will also be starting to serve the mortgage for the property they bought last year.
“The daycare fee has been increasing yearly now. It used to be below RM400 per month for kids from the age of 1 to 4 years. We did not think too much of it when it was just our firstborn, whom we sent to the facility.
“But now since both of our sons are being sent there, their daycare fees alone cost us RM1,000 monthly,” said Fadzli Farid, 35, when met by The Vibes here.
This, he said, does not include milk formula and diapers, although the couple’s meals are provided during morning tea and lunch at their workplaces.
He added that although there are cheaper options out there like the government-run Tabika Kemas early childhood facility, which is nearest to his home among all the centres, they are still a tad too far and out of the way for him and his wife to and from work.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, but with the economic downturn forecast for next year, we’re beginning to feel the pinch now,” he said.
The introduction of the new minimum wage of RM1,500, which came into effect last May, is among the factors that contributed to the increment of nursery and kindergarten fees due to the rise in operating costs.
In June, the president of the Putrajaya Nursery and Kindergarten Operators Association, Husna Abdul Rahaman, was quoted by The Star as saying that parents should expect an increase of between 20% and 40% for their children’s daycare service facilities following the introduction of the new minimum wage.
Another parent interviewed by The Vibes said that despite the increase in the nursery fees for his son and daughter, he would not send his children to other daycare facilities.
They already made friends and connections at their current nursery, so I don’t want to disrupt their growth,” he said.
“I think children need a set of familiar surroundings and people for them to grow. It wouldn’t be fair to them, to be sent to new places just to save a few bucks,” said Muhammad Firdaus Azami, also 35.
He said that the increase of fees for childcare services is expected with the current economic climate.
Agreeing with Firdaus, mother of two Liana Zubaidah, 40, said that she has no plans to switch from the current daycare centre that she sends her beloved kids to.
“The facility’s reputation, reliability, and location were my main concerns when deciding to enrol my kids,” she said.
She added that the fees charged by the outfit is reasonable, although no announcement has been made yet about any increment of fees for next year’s session. – The Vibes, December 16, 2022
