Parliament - Popular initiative for smaller daycare groups has little prospect
Education Minister Simone Oldenburg (Left Party) has dampened the expectations of a popular initiative calling for smaller groups in crèches, day nurseries and after-school care centers. The wishes are understandable, but at the same time too ambitious. "No state government can implement this," said Oldenburg on Friday in the state parliament in Schwerin.
In September, the initiators of the popular initiative handed over 17,500 signatures of eligible voters to the President of the state parliament, Birgit Hesse. She then announced that parliament would deal with the demands at the next possible state parliament session after reviewing the signatures. The aim of the popular initiative is to achieve staff-child ratios of 1:4 in crèches, 1:10 in nurseries and 1:17 in after-school care.
In order to achieve this, an additional 5000 nursery teachers would be required, said the Minister. Apart from the additional costs associated with this, the shortage of skilled workers in almost all sectors meant that there were not enough people to do this.
Speakers from the opposition accused the red-red government of not investing enough money in improving the quality of childcare for years. However, they conceded that the required keys were associated with immense costs. CDU MP Torsten Renz therefore called for a step-by-step plan. It would be desirable to reduce the childcare ratios noticeably in the first stages by 2030, for example.
On Thursday, the state parliament discussed the new childcare law at first reading. It provides for an initial improvement in the staff-child ratio in daycare centers from 1:15 to 1:14. Like the draft law, the popular initiative was also referred to the state parliament committees for further consultation.
In a comparison of the federal states, MV usually comes off badly in terms of group sizes. The responsible Ministry of Education, however, points out that Mecklenburg-Vorpommern guarantees the longest daily childcare hours and has the highest proportion of well-trained specialists.
According to the ministry, a total of 117,470 girls and boys in the north-east are looked after in daycare facilities or by childminders. The childcare rate for 0 to 3-year-olds is 59 percent and just under 95 percent for 3 to 6-year-olds. With these rates and also with the weekly childcare hours, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is at the top of the list in a state comparison.
Timetable for the state parliament session with links to laws and motions
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- Despite the submission of over 17,500 signatures for a popular initiative seeking smaller groups in Kindergartens, nurseries, and after-school care centers, Education Minister Simone Oldenburg from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's State Parliament asserted that it's unlikely for the state government to implement these changes due to financial and personnel constraints.
- The State Parliament's Committees are now reviewing both the new childcare law, which aims to improve staff-child ratios in daycare centers, and the popular initiative proposing staff-child ratios of 1:4 in Kindergartens, 1:10 in nurseries, and 1:17 in after-school care, which faced skepticism from opposition speakers.
- Member of the CDU, Torsten Renz, suggested a step-by-step plan to gradually reduce childcare ratios by 2030, acknowledging the substantial financial and resource investment required for such a shift, particularly given the Heavy shortage of skilled workers in various sectors.
Source: www.stern.de
