Parliament passes daycare centre bill to support working parents

Child Daycare Centre Bill 2021 was passed in Parliament today in a bid to support working parents as the number of nuclear families is increasing day by day.

State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Fazilatun Nesa placed the bill which was passed by voice vote.

"The bill has been prepared as the number of professional and working women is increasing day by day in the country," the junior minister said while placing the Bill.

According to the proposed law, there will be four types of child daycare centres in the country. They are—

1. Child daycare centres run with subsidy provided by the government,
2. Daycare centres run by the government, government agencies, directorate, department, statutory agency or autonomous agency to provide services free of cost,
3. Daycare centres run by individuals or organisations for commercial purposes,
4. and non-profitable daycare centres run by any individual, organisation, non-government organisation, club, association, corporate sector or industrial sector.

Registration will be required to set up the such facility and there would be a separate authority to handle registration.

Daycare Center will have to be established within six months of getting registered, otherwise it will be cancelled.

However, registrations can be renewed before expiration with fees. This can also be done with late fees within 30 days of expiration.

The Women and Children Affairs Ministry will monitor such facilities.

As per the bill, the maximum punishment for failure to maintain proper safety and security of the children in the daycare centres would be a fine of Tk 10 lakh (not less than Tk five lakh) or two years of imprisonment or both.

For repeating the same kind of offence the fine and imprisonment will be doubled.

The proposed law mentioned that if anyone runs any child daycare centre without registration, they would be fined Tk 50,000.

If any child faces any type of health risk while staying in any daycare center for negligence of any person that person will be imprisoned for two years or will be fined Tk two lakh, or both.

If any child gets lost from any such facility, the fine will be Tk five lakh or ten years of imprisonment or both.