CONSTITUTION OF ASSOCIATION FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS (SINGAPORE) – AECES

1. NAME : ASSOCIATION FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS(SINGAPORE)

This Association shall be known as the Association for Early Childhood Educators (Singapore).

(Hereafter referred to as the Association)

2. PLACE OF BUSINESS:

Its place of business shall be at Blk 18 Hougang Avenue 3 #01-159, Singapore 530018 or such address as may subsequently be decided upon by the committee and approved by the Registrar of Societies.

3. VISION and MISSION STATEMENT:

VISION :

A collaborative professional community building the foundation for the development of children and their families.

MISSION STATEMENT :

The Association is a professional body committed to working with educators, other professionals and stakeholders to:
• build partnerships
• Initiate and engage in dialogues
• advocate and support the development of children and their families.
for the purpose of creating an inclusive society

4. OBJECTIVES:

The objectives of the Association are :

(a) To advocate for collaboration among stakeholders for the holistic development of children.

(b) To promote awareness and understanding of the AECES’ Code of Ethics among the early childhood professionals and stakeholders

(c) To seek and create opportunities for dialogue among early childhood educators and other professionals on Early Childhood developments issues

(d) To foster continuing professional development for all early childhood educators

(e) To advocate for practices that promote inclusiveness for all children

(f) To do all such other things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of any of the above.

5. MEMBERSHIP :

(a) Membership shall be opened to men and women and in order to qualify an applicant must agree to abide by the Code of Ethics of the Association.

(b) The membership of the Association shall consist of the following categories : Ordinary, Associate, Honorary, Student and Life.

(i) Ordinary Membership

This is open to qualified individuals who are involved in the care and education of young children and who are above 18 years of age. Membership for this category is unlimited. Only this category has voting rights and the right to hold office.

(ii) Associate Membership

This category is open only to those who can make a special contribution to the Association, through their professional expertise or special interests, or who are in related professions. Applications are subject to the committee’s approval. Associate members are not allowed to hold office or vote in any general meetings.

(iii) Honorary Membership

Honorary membership is open to only those who have made significant contributions towards achieving the objects of the Association, or those who have helped and advised in the past in some special way. No subscription will be charged. They must be nominated by members and approved by the committee. They are not allowed to hold office or vote in any general meetings.

(iv) Student Membership

This is open to applicants who are attending related courses which are approved by the committee. They are not allowed to hold any office or vote in any general meetings.

(iv) Life Membership

*i. Life membership shall be granted to an Ordinary member who had paid membership for at least 10 years and final payment of $150.

ii. Life membership is also offered to all members for a one-time subscription of $300.

(*Please email to membership@aeces.org to check your eligibility for the life membership)

5(c) PATRON :

The Association may adopt Patrons approved through a vote for acceptance. Patrons shall have no rights to vote and to hold office in the Association.

6. MEMBERSHIP FEE :

(a) Registration fees for each category of Membership are as follows :

$10.00 for Associate Members

$10.00 for Ordinary Members

$ 5.00 for Students Members

$ 5.00 Ordinary Members who applied for Ordinary Membership in group of three and above

(b) Each application for Membership shall be accompanied by the registration fee.

7. SUBSCRIPTIONS :

(a) The annual subscription shall be :

Ordinary Members: $20.00 per annum or $50 for three years

(No differentiation between Management and teaching staff)

Student Members: $10.00

Associate Members: $25.00

Honorary Members: no fee

Life Members:

*i. Ordinary member who had paid membership for at least 10 years – final payment $150.00
ii. All members or new application, one-time payment $300.00 (excluding registration fee of $10.00)

(*Please email to membership@aeces.org to check your eligibility for the life membership)

(b) Subscription shall be due on the anniversary date and may be changed from time to time through majority agreement by the Executive Committee. New members should pay the full subscription for joining at any time of the year.

(c) If a Member falls into arrears with his/her subscription or other dues, he/she shall be informed by the Honorary Treasurer. If he/she fails to settle his/hers arrears within four weeks of their becoming over due, he/she will automatically cease to be a Member.

8. SUPREME AUTHORITY AND GENERAL MEETINGS:

(a) The supreme authority of the association is vested in a general meeting of the members presided over by the President.

(b) All general meetings, other than the AGM, shall be called Extraordinary General Meetings.

(c) Annual general meetings shall be held in March. At other times an extraordinary general meeting must be called by the President on request in writing by one-fifth of the total voting membership or may be called any time by the committee. At least three weeks’ notice shall be given of the Annual General Meeting and at least two weeks’ notice for an Extraordinary General Meeting and particulars of the agenda shall be sent to members.

(d) The quorum of the AGM and the EGM shall be one-quarter of the total voting membership or 25 voting members, whichever is less, for its proceedings to be valid.

(e) The agenda for the AGM shall include : Minutes of proceedings of the previous General Meeting, the President’s address; election of office-bearers and professional auditors for the following year; the honorary treasurer’s financial statement; the annual report of the committee by the secretary; notice of motions and amendments, and any other relevant business.

(f) Any member who wishes to place an item on the agenda for a general meeting may do so provided he gives notice to the honorary secretary at least one week before the meeting is due.

(g) In the event of there being no quorum at general meetings, the meeting shall be adjourned for half an hour and should the number then present be insufficient to form a quorum, those present shall be considered a quorum but they shall have no power to alter, amend or make additions to any of the existing rules.

9. MANAGEMENT AND COMMITTEE:

Eligibility:

Any ordinary member who has at least 3 months of membership prior to the commencement of nomination for Executive Committee Member may be nominated as a Committee member of the Executive Committee.

Any member who has served on the Board of the Executive Committee as a member for at least three terms (3 years) may be nominated to the position of President. Exception to this would be a nominee who has served one year in the Executive Committee and endorsed by the President and four other Executive Committee Members.

(a) The administration of the association shall be entrusted to a committee consisting of the following, to be elected at each AGM:

A President

A Vice-President

An Immediate Past President

An Honorary Secretary

An Honorary Treasurer

An Honorary Assistant Secretary

An Honorary Assistant Treasurer

Five Regular Commitee Members

(b) Names of the above officers shall be proposed and seconded at the annual general meeting and election will follow on a simple majority vote of the members. Nomination from the floor at an AGM shall not be accepted except in the case of a nominated member’s withdrawal/absence at the AGM.

(c) All officers may be elected year after year. The Honorary Treasurer may be elected up to a maximum of three consecutive years.

(d) A committee meeting shall be held at least four times a year after 7 days’ notice to Committee members. The President may call a committee meeting at any time by giving 7 days’ notice. At least half of the Committee members must be present for its proceedings to be valid.

(e) The duty of the committee is to organise and supervise the activities of the association and to make decisions on matters affecting its running when the general meeting is not sitting. It may not act contrary to the expressed wishes of the general meeting; without prior reference to it; and it must always remain subordinate to the general meetings.

(f) Any member of the committee absenting himself from three meetings consecutively without satisfactory explanation shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the committee and a successor may be co-opted by the committee to serve until the next annual general meeting. Any changes in the committee shall be notified to the Registrar of Societies within two weeks of the change.

(g) In the case of the resignation of a committee member, the committee will co-opt a new member for the interim of that term to serve until the next annual general meeting. Where any such committee member is also an office bearer (as described in Clause 10 below), the committee shall have the discretion to co-opt any existing committee member or that new member in accordance with this Constitution for the interim of that term to serve until the next annual general meeting. Any changes in the committee shall be notified to the Registrar of Societies within two weeks of the change.

10. DUTIES OF OFFICE-BEARERS:

The duties of office-bearers are as follows:

(a) The President shall act as chairperson at all general and committee meetings. He/She shall also represent the Association in its dealing with outside persons/bodies.

(b) The Vice-President shall assist the President and deputize in his/her absence.

(c) The Hon. Secretary shall keep all records, except financial, of the Association and shall be responsible for their correctness. He/She will keep minutes of all general and committee meetings.

(d) The Hon. Treasurer shall provide oversight for the fiscal affairs of AECES by: (1) supporting the preparation of an annual fiscal budget to the Executive Committee; (2) overseeing books and records so that they can be inspected during normal business hours by any member of the Executive Committee or any accountant or auditor designated by the Executive Committee; (3) ensuring that financial records of the Association are audited, reviewed or monitored annually by a certified public accountant; (4) ensuring that all applicable Singapore tax returns are filed; and (5) publishing and presenting an annual report of the financial status of the Association.

Further, the Hon. Treasurer or Hon. Assistant Treasurer and one of the other office-bearers appointed by the committee shall sign cheques for withdrawals from the bank or for the purpose of government tenders, submit requests to the bank for issuance of banker guarantee(s) as security deposits.

(e) The Immediate Past President shall be an advisory position that does not require nomination and have no voting rights. The Immediate Past President will serve in the position as long as he/she is the immediate past president.

The Ordinary Committee members shall assist in the general administration of the association and perform any duties assigned by the committee from time to time.

(f). The Hon. Assistant Secretary shall assist the Hon. Secretary and deputize in his/her absence.

(g) The Hon. Assistant Treasurer shall assist the Hon. Treasurer and deputize in his/her absence.

11. AUDIT AND FINANCIAL YEAR

(a) A professional auditor will be appointed at each annual general meeting and will serve for one year and shall be eligible for re-appointment for consecutive years. He/She will be required to audit each year’s accounts and present a report of them to the annual general meeting of the following year.

(b) The financial year shall be from 1st January to 31st December.

12. PROHIBITIONS:

(a) Gambling of any kind and the playing of paikow and mahjong, whether for stakes or not, is forbidden on the association’s premises. The introduction of materials for gambling or drug taking and of bad characters into the premises is prohibited.

(b) The funds of the association shall not be used to pay the fines of members who have been convicted in court.

(c) The Association shall not engage in any trade union activity as defined in any written law in relating to trade unions for the time being in force in Singapore.

(d) The Association shall not hold any lottery, whether confined to its members or not, in the name of the association or its office bearers, committee or members.

(e) The Association shall not indulge in any political activity or allow its funds and/or premises to be used for political purposes.

(f) The Association shall not attempt to restrict or interfere with trade or make directly or indirectly any recommendation to, or any arrangement with its members which has the purpose or is likely to have the effect of fixing or controlling the price or any discount, allowances or rebate relating to any goods or services to be supplied by them.

(g) The Association shall not raise funds from the public for whatever purposes without the prior approval in writing of the Registrar of Societies and other relevant authorities.

13. THE CODE OF ETHICS:

The Code of Ethics should not be inconsistent with this constitution. Any amendments to the Code of Ethics shall be made on the recommendation of the committee and subject to the approval of the general meeting of the members.

14. AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION:

Any member who wishes to propose any alteration or additions/deletions to these rules shall give notice to the Honorary Secretary at least two weeks before the general meeting.

The Association shall not amend its constitution without the prior approval in writing of the Registrar of Societies. No alteration or addition/deletion to this Constitution shall be passed except at a general meeting and with the consent of two-thirds (2/3) of the voting members present at the General Meeting.

15. INTERPRETATION:

In the event of any question or matter arising out of any point which is not expressly provided for in the rules, the committee shall have the power to use its own discretion. The decision of the committee shall be final unless it is reversed at a general meeting of members.

16. DISSOLUTION:

(a) The Association shall not be dissolved, except with the consent of no less than three-fifths of the members of the association who are eligible to vote and are at the time residing in Singapore. This may be expressed either in person or by proxy, at a general meeting convened for the purpose.

(b) In the event of the Association being dissolved as provided above, all debts and liabilities legally incurred on behalf of the Association shall be fully discharged, and the remaining funds will be donated to an approved charity or charities in Singapore as decided at the general meeting.

17. CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY:

In line with the Association’s Conflict of Interest Policy, whenever a member or officer has a financial or personal interest in any matter coming before the committee, the affected person shall a) fully disclose the nature of the interest and b) withdraw from discussion, proposing, and voting on the matter. Any transaction or vote involving a potential conflict of interest shall be approved only when a majority of disinterested committee members determine that it is in the best interest of the Association to do so. The minutes of meetings at which such votes are taken shall record such disclosure, abstention and rationale for approval. In the event that there is an even number of votes, the President will get a double vote.

18. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

In the event that the Association has surplus, a percentage of the surplus will be set aside to support, through reimbursement, the professional development of committee members.