Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Tomorrow the cost of sending your child
to early childhood centres will increase.
The government's recent cut to early childhood centres
relates to the number of qualified staff.
According to one educationalist, the increase will hit families hard.
Where are the benefits for Maori families who will have to pay
higher fees to send their kids to early childhood centres.
The centres that are unable to find qualified teachers will lose money.
That will cause problems for the centre, for the children,
the teachers, the parents and all of us.
From tomorrow, the government will be cutting funding
to early childhood centres
which have 80 to 100% of their staff fully qualified.
It's expected to save the government $3-400 million a year.
But Maori early childhood centres say if it gets too tough for parents
they will have limited alternatives.
The changes will not affect most Kohanga Reo,
but Maori early childhood centres will have to stay alert.
Something that most will have to deal with in the coming years.
Irena Smith, Te Karere.