Minister pushes guaranteed right to preschool
A The Czech
government is planning a major overhaul
of the country’s preschool education system. The final year of preschool should
be compulsory, while children at the age of two would be entitled to a place
in nursery school. But the country currently lack some 60,000 places in preschool
facilities, and officials are not very clear on how to secure funding for these
ambitious plans.
B The Czech
minister for human rights and equal opportunities, Jiří Dienstbier, announced
that besides poverty, social housing, equal access to education and
other issues, he would like to grant two-year-old Czech children the right to
be placed in preschool. He said other countries had successfully introduced
similar arrangements which he sees as crucial for implementing the policy of
equal opportunities. If children are entitled to start preschool at the age of
two, adults would no longer have to choose between pursuing their careers and starting a family. But the Czech Republic
chronically lacks places in preschools and kindergartens; this year,
some 60,000 children could not be placed to these facilities due to lack of
capacity.
C The
government also plans to make the final year of kindergarten compulsory,
which would require an increase in the number of preschool facilities. Most of
them are run by municipalities which would certainly require additional
funding. The human rights minister was not very specific about how the
government wants to achieve that.
D The Czech Republic’s
Union of Town and Municipalities welcomes these ideas but says that first, a
detailed plan needs to be put forward for a debate. The mayor of Chomutov Jan
Mareš is deputy head of the union. “We certainly do not oppose the idea. But
there are several issues that need to be resolved. Another problem that would
need to be addressed is what should be done with the increased capacities once the
number of children at preschool age drops again.”
E Minister
Dienstbier says his plan should be implemented within the next two or three
years. Meanwhile, the government has scrapped
a proposal put forth by the previous cabinet which saw the establishment of
“childrens groups” as a way addressing insufficient capacities in preschool
facilities. But these groups would only provide babysitting, and are not deemed
a suitable substitute for regular kindergartens.
Adjusted to (1)
overhaul – revise
pursue – věnovat se
scrap – zrušit
1) Read the article and match
each of the headings to a paragraph.
1 Children might attend
preschools from the age of 2
2 Problems
have to be solved first
3 The last year of
preschool education might be compulsory
4 Our country does not have
enough places in preschools
5 The plan should be
implemented soon
2) Read the article and answer
the questions.
1 What is the situation
concerning preschool education in the Czech Republic
like?
2 What changes are to be made?
Why? When?
3 Which problems might be
faced? Why?
4 What are the opinions of the
government and municipalities concerning the changes?
3) Explain the following words
and phrases.
1 be entitled to a place in
nursery school
2 equal access to education
3 to lack places in preschools
and kindergartens
4 plans to make the final year
of kindergarten compulsory
5 the number of children at
preschool age drops again
4) Answer the following
questions.
What
are possibilities of preschool education? What are their pros and cons? What do
you think about the situation of preschool system today and changes to be put
forward? How would you solve it? What are types of preschool alternative
education?
Video:
Tips, sources of
information:
Source:
(1)
RICHTER, Jan.
Minister pushes guaranteed right to preschool. Český rozhlas [online].
2014 [cit. 2015-09-22]. Available at: http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/minister-pushes-guaranteed-right-to-preschool
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