NUS co-op goes into childcare business

It partners NTUC First Campus in venture as co-op celebrates its 40th year

By Ang Yiying

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan observing the children at The Little Skool-House @ Kent Vale with its director, Ms Patricia Pereira (standing, right), and NTUC First Campus CEO Chan Tee Seng. -- PHOTO: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE MULTI-PURPOSE CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY

IT BEGAN as a hole-in-the-wall textbook outlet at the then University of Singapore's Bukit Timah campus. Now, 40 years on, the National University of Singapore Multi-purpose Co-operative Society, or NUS Co-op, is venturing into bigger business.

This month, it began an initiative with NTUC First Campus to run a childcare centre, The Little Skool-House @ Kent Vale, and is looking at how it can branch out further, into providing student housing or, perhaps, running food and beverage outlets.

Ms Jessie Lee, general manager of the NUS Co-op, said diversifying provides new services required by the NUS community and also helps it ramp up profits and surplus that can go into subsidising the business of selling affordable textbooks. More surplus means it can fund more student bursaries on a more consistent basis.

Over the last 30-odd years, it has opened new outlets and now has seven in all. On top of its core business of selling textbooks, it also distributes notebook computers, manages academic gowns and supplies NUS-branded merchandise.

At the co-op's 40th anniversary event yesterday where a commemorative book was launched, guest of honour and Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan said that co-operatives - which are businesses with a social mission - play an integral role in the business and social sector.

He lauded the developing partnerships for realising that an individual co-op cannot do everything by itself and it is better to work with others.

NTUC First Campus' CEO and executive council chairman of Singapore National Co-operative Federation Chan Tee Seng said the childcare centre at Kent Vale, serving the NUS community, is one of the rare major joint ventures between two co-ops recently.

The NUS co-op is one of 13 campus co-ops here - there are others in secondary and vocational schools, junior colleges and polytechnics.

Campus co-ops interviewed said they were open to the idea of working with others, and diversifying their products and services offered.

The NorthLight School Multi-Purpose Co-operative runs a shop on campus selling items such as uniforms and stationery and serves as a training ground for students studying retail operations. Surplus goes into a fund to help needy students.

The co-op chairman and head of the school's retail operations department, Mr Albertt Chua, said: 'I think there are a lot of co-ops which have found their niche, so we can leverage and tap on their network and work together.'

Source: Straits Times, 20 Jan 2010.