THE federal government believes there are serious issues with how the state government is rolling out Victoria’s kindergarten program.
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It comes after the state government this month launched a petition urging Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to commit to sustainable funding for four-year-old kindergarten.
For the past five years, the federal government has signed short-term yearly agreements to help fund 15 hours of four-year-old kinder a week.
The current agreement – announced in February – runs until the end of 2019.
However federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham said the state government’s poor management meant more than 30 per cent of Victorian children who were enrolled for 15 hours of kinder a week were not attending for the full 15 hours.
“When will they take responsibility for the fact a significant number of Victoria’s littlest learners are being left behind?” he said.
“The Turnbull Government has locked in funding for preschool for this year and next year so there’s time to work through these serious attendance issues.
“The Andrews Government need to come to the party so we can work together to develop an enduring policy beyond 2019 that ensures Victorian children are not just enrolling, but attending and benefiting from preschool programs in readiness for school.”
In launching its petition, the state government called on the federal government to heed the recommendations in the Lifting Our Game report, which noted Australia failed to invest adequately in early childhood education.
However the federal government said the report did not account for the $8 billion it paid in subsidies to families each year.