92.5% OF DAY CARE CENTRES OPERATE ILEGALLY IN CAPE COAST

By Felix Schmermer

One hundred eighty five Day Care Centres out of two hundred representing 92.5 % are going to be closed down soon, if they don’t take the necessary steps to get an official license issued from the Social Welfare department.

some children at a Day Care Centre

 This was revealed by  the Metropolitan  Director of Social WelfareFelicia Ankrah .The early years of childhood from day one to 2 years are important for the psychological development, the development of the character, development of verbal abilities and also for the physical development of a child. If parents are not able, because of work or any other inconveniences to take care of the children themselves, they have to give their children in the care of a day care centre in the hope that the staff and people at the centre will take good care of their children. This good believe and trust in the good nature of humans can be disappointed in a very bad way. Parents watch what their children are eating and drinking, they look for quality certificates like the Ghana Standards Board to be certain the food will not harm their children. Such a Standard should also exist for the institution taking care of the children, so that parents can be ensured their children are in trained and qualified hands, which will not maltreat their children. This standard already exists for a long time since 1998 in the children act, but was not enforced for a long time.

The caretaking of children is under the legal basis of the children act and it is stated in the act that day care centres need to be officially registered with the social welfare, which will ensure and inspect, if certain standards are achieved. Even though this act exists and is ratified for a long time in Central Region only 15 day care centre have registered with social welfare and got their certificate, which ensures an adequate handling of children in the institution. If a certificate is issued it will also include a rating of the facility from A to F (So far no facility was rewarded with the A grade). But this rating is not a mark for lifetime it can change every six month, after six month the social welfare will come and check again on the facility and rate it new, so facilities can improve or decorate. With the 6 monthly checks a constant standard is ensured and will provide parents with the important fact how they children are treated and in which environment they spend their time. Not registered businesses should registered as soon as possible the processing of the certificate takes roughly only a week and will legalise the day care and provide parents with the important information how good the facilities are.

It is now important to enforce the given legal basis, to guarantee the development of a child will not be in danger because of the bad treatment in any day care centre. But the unregistered and illegally operating day care centres are not only among the small and unknown day care centres even well know day care centres with a good reputation have not been registered a fact, which should bring discredit upon themselves. They can boast about certificates from institutions all over the world, anyhow they have not been able to get the necessary certificate from the local ministry of social welfare to operate legally, so all their reputation is based on illegal operation.

The now coming trend reversal in the enforcement of the law is one important step to break the trend of illegal operating day care centres and to change the attitude, that a day care centre is an easy business without regulation to make fast money. A day care centre is taking care of the most precious element in life, the future generation, the children; it is not like any business handling goods. Day care centres have the responsibility to handle human beings with feelings in a very imprinting stage of development. The government must ensure that those businesses are having the necessary standard to handle the children.