PARENTS with children enrolled in preschool at Lavington’s Hume Public School will pay fees of $10 a day as the O’Farrell government introduces public preschool fees across NSW this year.
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While the shadow minister for education Carmel Tebbutt said the fees came about “seemingly out of nowhere” and placed an intolerable burden on NSW parents, member for Albury, Greg Aplin, said the fees had been mooted at least six months ago.
Mr Aplin said the preschool at Hume Public School was the only one of its kind in his electorate and one of only 100 across the state.
He said the intention in introducing fees for the public preschools was to introduce some equality with community preschools which catered to a larger percentage of preschool children and where parents were already paying fees for their children to attend.
“It was the intention that there should be some contribution paid, but there will still be substantial subsidies available to those who can’t afford to pay,” Mr Aplin said.
“There has been discrimination where those who have been attending public preschools have been receiving a free education.
“This is an opportunity to look long term at what the plan might be to see federal government support to get more four-year-olds into preschool but it has got to be affordable.”
The new public preschool fees are as high as $40 a day at some Sydney schools and Ms Tebbutt said there were reports that parents were enrolling their children in kindergarten a year early to avoid having to pay the fees.
“Mums and dads who voted for Barry O’Farrell last March had no idea he had this nasty surprise in store for them,” Ms Tebbutt said.
“An extra $100 to $200 a week is a serious hit on the household budget. Many families returning from summer holidays are in for a rude shock.
“Many parents had already enrolled their child in a government preschool and are now locked into paying a fee they never anticipated or budgeted for. They are finding it too late to make other arrangements.”
But Mr Aplin said there were limitations on parents attempting to enrol their children in kindergarten early.
“The child has to be suitable and they have to be a certain age. Parents will also be more interested in the welfare of their children and they know the benefits of preschool for children,” he said.
Mr Aplin said the O’Farrell government would continue to address a gap in pay rates earned by early childhood teachers working in community-based preschools and long- daycare centres, and those working in state government preschools and independent and Catholic primary schools.
Editorial — page 16
