About six thousand children who attend private kindergartens free of charge are at risk of losing this right, since the allocated funds have not been updated and the institutions admit that they are forced to abandon the Creche Feliz program.
The warning was sounded on Tuesday by the president of the Association of Kindergartens and Small Private Educational Institutions (ACPEEP), Susana Batista, who said it was urgent to update the funds allocated for each child who attends school free of charge, taking into account inflation. and wages increase.
“Unless there is an update on Social Security (SS) contribution rates, it will become unaffordable for these daycare centers to continue participating in the program,” he warned, adding that “at least a third of participants have a rope around their throats, and that’s about six thousand vacancies.”
The association’s president says she has been warning the social services minister since the summer about the risk of hundreds of kindergartens turning away from the program, but has yet to receive any response.
The situation is more serious for kindergartens located in areas such as Lisbon, Porto or Oeiras, where rents are higher and it is in these geographical areas that there is greater demand from families.
The association’s president told Lusa that the only requirement from private companies is “to receive the same amount as all other kindergartens for the same services.”
The Creche Feliz program determines that the amount to be paid for each child should be the same for all institutions, both private and social sector, but Susana Batista assured that this does not happen.
In a conversation with Lusa, he accused the government of paying more to kindergartens in the social and solidarity sectors than to private institutions.
Last year, the ministry decided to increase the amount allocated for each child by 3%. However, social and solidarity institutions received it retroactively to January, while private institutions only received it retroactively until September, Susana Batista reported.
For eight months, kindergartens in the social sector received 473.80 euros per child per month, and private institutions received 460 euros. “We have eight months to get paid,” he said.
To combat inflation and rising wages, the government has decided to provide “unique emergency support for kindergartens in the social assistance and solidarity sector for 2023, increasing financial contributions by 5%”, with this increase not affecting individuals who have children in kindergarten . program.Happy.
The Escola Feliz program started in 2021 and currently has about 85 thousand children in its network, which has been expanded to private institutions to be able to serve more families.
In January this year, the government announced that there would be no update to the monetary value.
Susana Batista recalls that the minimum wage has increased by 8% and “other expenses will increase by about 4%” and therefore asks the guardianship authority to hold a meeting to determine “an interim rate to cope with this increase.”
Private institutions also do not receive the supplements provided for by the Creche Feliz rules for institutions that are open more than eleven hours a day or on Saturdays, while Susana Batista stated that the Social Security Service refused to pay.