Kinderland slammed for new policy banning staff from using personal devices during teaching hours

Kinderland's announcement on Wednesday (Aug 30) that it will no longer allow its staff to use their personal devices during teaching is not going over very well.

The pre-school education provider said on its social media that it is to "prevent the misuse of photos and videos of children".

This came in the wake of the arrests of two former Kinderland teachers after videos of their handling of children in the pre-school went viral earlier this week. Another former Kinderland teacher admitted to taking the videos.

The Early Childhood Development Agency said it was alerted to the incidents by a former employee.

One Facebook user commented: “The recent cases were not about infringing the children’s privacy; if you thought it was, then you are entirely missing the point.”

Another netizen put it in terms of perceived Kinderland's point of view: "We made a mistake and got caught. To safeguard the company, we have put measures in place to ensure that we won't get caught in the future. We hope that these measures will better protect us."

A group of 12 parents turned up at the school on Wednesday afternoon, demanding to speak to the principal, Ms Mahirah Yasid, but she was not there, reported The Straits Times.

The parents said she should be dismissed for not doing enough in the alleged abuse incidents.

Many of them have withdrawn their children from the pre-school, or are looking to do so.

One teacher allegedly seen in the secretly filmed videos appeared in court via video link on Wednesday, where she was charged with ill-treating a child.

Lin Min, 33, allegedly forced a 23-month-old girl into a lying position on the floor and poured water into her mouth.

The teacher has since been dismissed by Kinderland.

The second teacher, 48, was arrested on Tuesday after a video taken at Kinderland’s Sunshine Place branch in Choa Chu Kang emerged online.

It shows a woman hitting a boy on the head several times. The teacher has since been suspended.