• 10/04/2023
• By wizewebsite
• 972 Views

iRozhlas Kindergarten is solving how to pay nannies for two-year-olds from September. The ministry wants to cancel the funding<

Kindergarten teachers are in for a surprise in September, who they will actually be teaching. Because registrations were done remotely this year due to the coronavirus, the children have not yet met the teachers at all. Many nurseries also don't know how to pay for nannies for two-year-olds. The Ministry of Education wants to cancel their funding, contrary to plans. However, when enrolling in kindergartens, they counted on subsidies for babysitters and accepted small children. But now he doesn't know how to take care of them.

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These are just some of the problems of preschool education in the Czech Republic, which were pointed out by pedagogues during a round table discussion in the Chamber of Deputies.

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"My group consists of 24 children. Five were born in August, five children were born between 9/1 and 12/31, who will be three years old, and 5 of them are of Vietnamese nationality," one of the teachers describes what her kindergarten class will look like in September.

But so far she only knows the children from the registration forms, she did not meet them this year at registration, the measures against the spread of the coronavirus did not allow it. She and her other colleagues are therefore worried that it will become clear in kindergarten that some of the children have special educational needs. For example, that they suffer from a behavior disorder, autism spectrum disorder or even that they can't speak Czech. If there is such a student in the class, the maximum number of children in it, which is 24, should be reduced by two.

It will be late in September

In September, however, it will be too late, says Milena Moltová, director of the Čtyřlístek kindergarten in Benešov. "We can't anymore, we have him accepted in administrative proceedings just like everyone else, it will simply remain overcrowded. The teachers argue with it, but it is at the expense of their mental health," she points out.

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The situation for kindergartens will also be complicated by the fact that, when enrolling, they counted on the fact that from September they will hire nannies for two-year-old children and that they will receive money from the state for their salaries. However, the Ministry of Education wants to cancel this decision.

The need for nannies came with an amendment to the Education Act from 2016, according to which, starting this September, kindergartens had to guarantee a place not only for children older than three years, but also for two-year-olds. But the current government canceled that, and therefore wants to cancel their funding from the budget.

Quality of preschool education

"For four years, the nannies will be financed from the state budget, and it should start this September. If the ministry did not take this into account in this year's budget, it neglected something," Radek Sárközi from the Pedagogical Chamber criticizes the ministry's approach.

According to the association, these changes will have a negative impact on the quality of preschool education. According to the chamber, in kindergartens there are often children from two to six years old in one class, and thanks to nannies, teachers could concentrate more on the education of preschoolers. According to Zuzana Matušková, economic deputy of the Ministry of Education, although the ministry has not officially informed kindergartens, it is still possible to apply for European subsidies for the salaries of nannies.

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"I am sorry that the message that I communicated publicly and ahead of time did not reach the public's awareness of preschool education more. They are not completely exposed to the fact that they cannot do anything, because the third call for templates is open here," says Matušková.

But according to some of the headmistresses, it is already too late and the money for the new school year is not enough. According to deputy Matušková, the ministry wants to increase the funding of non-pedagogues in kindergartens by five percent next year, and kindergartens could draw money from them for nannies. According to her, some kindergartens could also use the money for salaries that they saved this year in connection with the coronavirus crisis, when most kindergartens were closed.

Eva ŠelepováShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInPrintCopy url addressShortened addressClose