Little Professors Learning Centre issues: Parents make police reports over GIRO double payments

SINGAPORE: Some parents whose children were in student care centres operated by Little Professors Learning Centre (LPLC) have filed police reports after they found out that they were double-charged fees.

News broke last Saturday night (Feb 14) that LPLC is under investigation by the police and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), leaving some parents anxious and angry.

Parents said they were worried about childcare arrangements and one mother told CNA she might have to quit her job if a replacement operator is not found.

LPLC is a private operator that ran student care centres in eight primary schools – Anchor Green, Jing Shan, Kranji, Punggol Cove, Waterway, Westwood, Hong Wen and White Sands. 

It also provides Kindergarten Care or KCare services for MOE Kindergartens in six of these primary schools.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) said that operational issues surfaced last week, including the non-payment of salaries to staff. The company director could not be contacted.

This resulted in insufficient staff members to support the student care centre operations in the eight primary schools.

Some parents had also complained of apparent anomalies in their GIRO deductions by the operator, said MOE.

The ministry terminated the operator's service last Saturday due to contractual breaches and has also filed a police report.

The schools have deployed the required manpower to keep the after-school care going until a new operator is formally appointed.

DOUBLE PAYMENTS

The children of four parents that CNA spoke to attended the centres in Jing Shan, Westwood and Punggol Cove primary schools.

A mother who gave her name as Yuki said she only discovered the double deduction after receiving a call from her daughter’s kindergarten teacher at Westwood Primary School on Feb 14. 

The teacher had informed her of LPLC’s issues and advised her to terminate any existing GIRO arrangement.

Ms Yuki, a financial adviser, checked her bank statements. She had paid a deposit of S$543.60 before her six-year-old daughter began attending LPLC’s KCare centre in January 2025. 

She qualified for subsidies, which meant she was supposed to pay S$30 a month.

Instead, she was charged the full S$196.80 monthly fee for three months in 2025, as well as S$68 in January. She was also double-charged S$30 in February - once on Feb 2 and again on Feb 12.

Acting on the teacher’s advice, she filed a police report on Sunday.

Another parent, who wanted to be known as Mr Teng, said he paid S$693.60 in October last year to enrol his five-year-old daughter at Westwood. 

The sum included a one-month deposit and January 2026's student care fees, as that was when his daughter was starting at the centre. 

He had applied for the basic S$150 monthly subsidy available to Singaporean children enrolled in infant or childcare centres licensed by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA).

But instead of the subsidised rate, he was charged the full S$346.80 twice, on Feb 2 and Feb 12.

While the father of four has not filed a police report and is monitoring the situation, he has cancelled his GIRO arrangement with LPLC.

“I have grave concerns about the unauthorised deduction,” he said. Although GIRO payments are convenient, the incident has shaken his confidence. He said that he has since cancelled other GIRO arrangements and will switch to manual payments.

Both parents are also concerned about getting their deposits back.

The police said last week that investigations were ongoing.

ANXIETY

The four parents who CNA spoke to have yet to plan for alternative after-care services and are relying on the interim measures put in place by MOE.

These interim measures include providing meals and homework supervision after school, and will come at no cost to affected parents or guardians.

Ms Mas, whose son attended LPLC’s student care at Punggol Cove Primary School, said she felt there was little choice but to depend on these temporary arrangements.

"As much as I pity the teachers, volunteers and the school staff, I see no other options," she said. 

She pointed out that the situation was "pretty chaotic" at the school when she picked up her son earlier this week. 

"I’m worried about the teachers' fatigue. How are they going to teach with quality when they are burnt out and tired?" she said. 

Ms Mas added that she was also concerned that she might have to quit her job to take care of her child if a new operator is not found. 

"That would affect my whole family financially as we are a big family of seven," said the mother, who works as a sales assistant. 

The sudden change has also upset her son, who needed time to process the disruption.

Other parents voiced similar concerns. Mdm Suriani Rabu said the situation had caused her anxiety and placed parents in an unfair position.

Parents are already juggling several things, and they now face additional concerns, such as potentially taking leave from work to care for their children and getting their money back.

Mr Teng said he was angry and disappointed. His daughter had only just transitioned from nursery to K1 and was adjusting to the new environment. 

"They spent the last month getting used to a new routine, new classmates and new teachers," he said, adding that teachers play an important role in helping young children settle in.

UNPAID WAGES

LPLC is also under investigation over unpaid salaries to 54 employees.

The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board detected outstanding contributions in December 2025 and has taken prosecution action against LPLC. The case is before the courts, authorities said. 

Nineteen affected employees had lodged a report with the CPF Board. 

MOM is also investigating the company for possible offences under the Employment Act.

MP Shawn Loh (PAP-Jalan Besar GRC) said in a Facebook post last Saturday that the abrupt closure had affected the livelihoods of student care teachers. The LPLC branch at Hong Wen School falls within his Whampoa division.

Speaking to CNA, Mr Loh said he was deeply concerned about the issue and that the operator's actions were highly irresponsible. The matter was also concerning to him as an adviser to the Education Services Union, he added. 

He also told CNA that nearly 10 parents had approached him, mainly about their GIRO deductions. MOE had assured him that student care services would continue at no additional cost to parents, he said.

Mr Loh has also filed several parliamentary questions, including queries on the interim plan to continue student care operations.