Starting a Kindergarten Business

Fees

Registration fees, term fees, payments for meals and kindergarten uniforms, and other fees charged will require approval from JPN/PPD. Fees paid must commensurate with the facilities and services provided and applications must be made for any fee increase. Fee increase is only allowed once in 3 years and must not be more than 30%.

Principal and teachers

Your principal and teachers must be Malaysians. The principal and teachers must at least have a Diploma in Early Childhood Education or its equivalent, while the principal must also have at least 3 years teaching experience in a private educational institution/kindergarten or is a retired teacher or ex-teacher.

Registering a private kindergarten

Before a private kindergarten can receive its certificate of registration from the MoE, there are three major stages (which may overlap) where applications have to be submitted to the government departments involved:

A) Application to JPN/PPD to establish a private kindergarten

B) Application to the local authority, Fire & Rescue Department and Health Department for approval of the location and premises

C) Application to JPN/PPD to register the kindergarten

A)Application to establish a private kindergarten

The application for the establishment (penubuhan) of a kindergarten is the initial stage where the JPN/PPD checks your proposed set-up – i.e., your education programmes, financial standing, management, manpower, and facilities. The application is made using Borang BPS1 and Borang 5F and is submitted to either:

• the Private Education Unit (Unit Pendidikan Swasta) of the JPN in the State where the kindergarten is to be located, or
• the PPD that oversees the district where the kindergarten is to be located.

If you are thinking which option is faster, it usually depends on how busy the officer processing such applications is – there is usually only one officer doing this at the JPNs and PPDs. For example, if you are in districts such as Petaling Utama and Petaling Perdana in Selangor, where relatively more applications are received by the PPDs, you may wish to submit your application to JPN Selangor. Once your kindergarten has been approved and your certificate of registration received, you can still make a request for your file to be transferred to the PPD concerned if you wish.

When submitting Borang BPS1 and Borang 5F, besides the details pertaining to your business, Board members, principal and teachers, you will also need to submit:

• Three proposed names according to the guidelines provided
• A location plan of your kindergarten showing the major highways/roads leading to it from the surrounding townships
• A floor plan of your premises with the room measurements
• A copy of the tenancy agreement or offer letter of intent to rent the premises
• Letters of consent from owners of the neighbouring houses, if in a housing area
• A draft of the instrument of governance (you can ask JPN/PPD for a sample to follow)
• A working paper, which includes all the above details plus detailed photographs (you can ask JPN/PPD for a sample to follow)

For the location plan and floor plan, check how many copies the officer requires. The JPN in Kuala Lumpur needs 8 copies, while others need only sufficient copies for themselves, the local authority, Fire & Rescue Department, and Health Department. Note that your working paper is supposed to look impressive. JPN Pulau Pinang even provided a sample on their portal of how the cover page should look.

If all the documents are in order and your application is accepted, the officer is supposed to make a site visit to your proposed kindergarten (although not all do so).

B)Application for approval of the location and premises

After your application is received by the JPN/PPD, they will provide you with letters addressed to the Local Authority, Fire & Rescue Department, and Health Department requesting them to look into the other aspects of your kindergarten under their jurisdiction. You will also have to do a name search and booking at CCM for the kindergarten name that has been accepted by JPN/PPD. It would speed up things if you deliver these letters directly to the 3 departments. Note that it is your responsibility to obtain their endorsement of your kindergarten. Their approval letters are required by the JPN/PPD before your kindergarten can be registered.

C)Application to register a kindergarten

Once the JPN/PPD is satisfied with the information and documents you have provided in (A) and with your location and premises, JPN/PPD will provide you with Borang B Kaedah 5 (T) and its attachments to apply for the registration of the kindergarten, while awaiting the approval letters from the local authority, Fire & Rescue Department, and Health Department.

You will have to submit Borang B Kaedah 5 (T) together with a receipt for RM7.00 (payment for processing fee and certificate of registration) and the following:

• A copy of the approval letter from the Local Authority
• 1 original copy of the finalised instrument of governance
• Maklumat Pengurusan (T) form with the details of your BoG members
• Borang C (Permit Pengelola / Pekerja), which is an application by a BoG member to be registered. Each form must be clipped together with a receipt for the RM7.00 payment for the processing fee and permit
• Borang PT-(1)-(M), which is an application by your teachers for a teaching permit. Payment is also RM7.00.
• Location plan and floor plan
• Latest photos of the kindergarten premises, i.e. the signage, frontage, outside views, inside views
• A copy of the kindergarten’s latest bank statement
• A copy of the approval letter from the Health Department
• A copy of the approval letter from the Fire & Rescue Department

Conclusion

As can be seen from all the above, the setting up of a kindergarten is not an easy task. One needs knowledge of the business, a safe location, the right premises, and suitable and qualified people as board members, principals, teachers, and workers to provide the best environment for the pupils to be taught, to learn, to cultivate positive attitudes, to develop their character, and to grow strong and healthy. The many layers in the approval process are tedious and time-consuming but the regulations definitely help to ensure the well-being and safety of our little ones.

We very much welcome kindergarten owners who have gone through the registration process to share their experiences here. We have presented a general picture as a preliminary guide to new-comers. If you have any advice to give on the other details and processes, please do share with us here.

•Application to JPN/PPD to establish a private kindergarten.