22 August 2005
Labour’s revised ‘20 free hours policy’ better but still flawed
The government's decision to extend the weekly '20 free hours' of early childhood education (ECE) to all 3 and 4 year
olds at teacher-led centres is a step forward, but the policy remains flawed, says Education Forum policy adviser Norman
LaRocque.
Prior to today's announcement, only three and four year-olds at community-owned centres would have been eligible for the
subsidy, which is to take effect from 2007, and 25,000 children at ‘private’ centres missed out.
Parents at ‘private’ centres will no doubt welcome the additional subsidy and these centres will welcome the fact that
they will be able to compete on a level playing field with community-owned centres, said Mr LaRocque.
Despite this change, the policy remains flawed. A key weakness is that it caps the amount that centres can charge for
those 20 free hours. This does not recognise that different services have different cost structures and could force
‘high cost/high quality’ centres to either reduce quality or find other ways of raising revenues – such as increasing
non-regulated fees – to cover the shortfall, said Mr LaRocque.
A better policy would be to continue funding ECE services according to enrolments and allowing centres to charge fees on
top of that. Such a policy would allow parents to choose the appropriate quality level they desire, rather than having
it determined through regulatory fiat. If any additional ECE subsidy is deemed appropriate, it should be targeted to
those most in need, rather than being provided across the board, said Mr LaRocque.
Middle class parents do not need more government hand outs. Tax cuts would provide them with the freedom to decide how
best to structure their own child care arrangements, concluded Mr LaRocque.
ENDS