The Loddon Mallee Preschool Association has thrown its weight behind calls for the federal government to commit to continuing to fund kindergarten after the National Partnership Agreement with the states ends in December.
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The LMPA on Friday backed the state government and the Early Learning Association of Australia, who have both started separate petitions calling for federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham to continue funding five hours of kindergarten a week, in addition to the 10 hours contributed by the state.
LMPA chief executive officer Phil Hocking said at least 15 hours of kindergarten per week was necessary to ensure Australia did not fall further behind the rest of the world.
“We don’t want to go back to the 10 hours scenario which would be purely state-funded, because really it’s not appropriate for the development of children going into the future,” he said.
“Globally Australia is still behind what’s happening in other countries so we do need continue with at least the 15 hours.”
Mr Hocking said if the federal government did not commit to extending the agreement some children would risk missing out completely.
“If we don’t have that funding then if we were to try to maintain 15 hours of kindergarten per week the onus would come back on parents,” he said.
“We’ve got to have funding from somewhere and to expect parents to virtually double the fees they currently pay, it just makes it unaffordable.”
Municipal Association of Victoria interim president Coral Ross said the loss of funding would mean parents who could not afford extra child care to cover the lost day of kindergarten would find it harder to return to work.
She said parents could face up to $2000 extra per child, per year, in fees if they were forced to pay for an extra day of child care each week.
“Kindergarten gives our children the best start at a critical time in their development and helps to prepare them for school,” she said.
“Many families already struggle with the rising costs of childcare and school, so to lose five hours of funded kinder would really hurt those who need it most.”
Mr Birmingham labelled the claims behind the petition “untrue” and said the government was committed to ensuring all children had access to quality early learning and care.
“We know that a quality preschool education is essential for laying the foundations for successful learning, including transition to full-time school and future school success,” he said.
“Parents and providers should ignore these scare campaigns as we are committed to working through these issues with the states and territories.”