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EXCERPTS
Families counting on full-day kindergarten for their five-year-olds will have to wait at least another year.
The B.C. government withdrew its intentions to introduce the voluntary program this September, citing the recession, the lack of appropriate space, and the time to recruit qualified educators. The announcement illustrates poor planning, said education critic Norm Macdonald.
“These are things that should have been thought through before this was initially announced to parents in the 2008 throne speech,” said Macdonald. “What’s so unfair about this is that I think there were a lot of parents who were quite excited about the prospect.”
Last February, Education Minister Shirley Bond announced plans to consider extending half-day kindergarten to full-day by 2009, and expanding the program to include three- and four-year-olds by 2010 and 2011.
“We intend to move forward with our plans to provide full-day kindergarten for every five-year-old in the province,” said Bond earlier this month. “However, there is still more work to do at the district and ministry level before we are able to determine the best way to move forward.”
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In the meantime, the ministry is sitting on a report exploring the feasibility of expanding kindergarten. The Early Learning Childhood Agency submitted its conclusions by January. It is scheduled for release to the public by the end of March.
- reprinted from the Victoria News