Three mega state companies shut down daycare centers

Three of the biggest state-owned enterprises – Maldives Ports Limited (MPL), Housing Development Corporation (HDC), and State Electric Company (STELCO – have shut down in-house daycare centers.

All three companies – among the biggest employers in the country - confirm that their in-house daycare centers are currently closed.

A spokesperson from MPL told Sun that the company’s daycare center has been closed for “some time.”

However, he did not provide a reason for the closure, and nor did he state when the center will reopen.

MPL had opened its kids care center in March 2023, with the stated purpose of empowering women and improving the convenience of working parents of young children.

HDC’s spokesperson told Sun that the company’s daycare center is currently closed for renovation.

The spokesperson said the center would open after renovations, but was unable to say when that would be.

The daycare center at HDC was opened with the stated purpose of providing a safe environment for children of the company’s employees as they work.

Meanwhile, STELCO’s spokesperson said the company’s daycare center has been has been completely shut down for a long time.

The company’s daycare center, located in its main headquarters in Male’, was directed at children aged 5-10 years.

All three centers were opened during former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration as part of policies on ensuring social stability, empowering women, and fostering healthy families.

The daycare centers in all three companies had offered a safe space where children could eat, study, perform prayers, and play while their parents worked nearby. The closure of the centers poses a challenge for working parents with young children.