QPEC says that a major problem with the ECE sector is that a large part of it is for-profit, privately owned, and in many cases, part of foreign chains.ย ย ย
In its place, QPEC argues for public ownership in a partnership model withย
Government and community.ย ย ย
There has been serious focus on ECE in the last two weeks through mainstream media via radio and print,1 through political party statements, and through a University of Waikato webinar 2 with Canadian specialists in ECE funding.ย ย ย
It has become clear that there are serious concerns with the use of public funds and with the standards of many ECE centres. ย It is reported 3 that “a serious chunk of $2.3 billion a year in taxpayer funding is collected by for-profit providers and passed on to investors,” in a sector that is over 60% privately owned.ย ย ย
Michelle Duff reports, “Industry watchdogs said monitoring was haphazard, allowing businesses to cut corners in staffing and resources and jeopardise child safety.”ย ย ย
Previously in the NZ Herald, 4 Professor Emerita Linda Mitchell noted the closure of 10 privately owned centres post-lockdown. ย She quoted a Ministry of Education official: ย ย “allegations of physical or emotional injuries inflicted on children, including verbal abuse, isolation of children and physical harm, poor curriculum quality, a lack of staff and poor learning support”.ย ย ย
Mitchell summed up: ย “It is scandalous such ECE centres are allowed to exist, propped up by government funding. This was made possible by the ease with which private owners can establish a childcare “business” without having any ECE expertise themselves, access government funding, determine their own staff pay and conditions, and operate with insufficient accountability for their use of funds.”ย ย ย
QPEC argues that there are numbers of distinct advantages to public ownership:ย ย ย
- ECE would serve the public good, not private profit-makingย ย ย
- it would be NZ-owned, not foreign-owned and directedย ย ย
- it could ensure public oversight for standards of staff and curriculumย ย ย
- the public funds currently supporting foreign and private entities could go directly into financing public ECEย ย ย
- ECE could become a free service ย ย