March 29, 2016
The Welfare Ministry on March 28 announced urgent measures to tackle the issue of children waiting to enter authorized childcare centers. The measures will cram waiting children into existing facilities while ignoring the call for a wage hike for childcare workers which is essential to attract more workers to childcare jobs. This indicates the total lack of effectiveness of the announced measures.
The essence of the ministry’s measures is to increase the total admission capacity of existing day-nurseries. Under the measures, for example, the ministry will increase the fixed number of children for small-sized care facilities from the current 19 to 22. Furthermore, the ministry will allow these facilities, even if they have no qualified childcare workers, to accept children.
The Welfare Ministry’s scheme requires local governments to enroll more children in their childcare facilities by lowering their own standards for the size of facilities if those standards exceed the national standards.
The Abe government plans to encourage private companies to build more childcare facilities starting in April. The government will also permit these facility operators to hire workers without childcare qualifications and neglect equipping them with an outdoor play space and a kitchen.
Those who face the problem of children on waiting lists for admission to authorized childcare centers are mainly parents of children under the age of two. These children need to receive careful childcare services. Therefore, the expansion of fixed capacity of daycare centers will lead to causing childcare workers to physically and mentally shoulder heavier burdens.
The need now is for the national government to cancel its plan to cram children into day-nurseries and construct more authorized nurseries with measures to provide higher wages for workers and make proper use of empty spaces in public facilities.
Past related articles:
> City’s plan to close all public childcare centers provokes fierce backlash from public [March 17, 2016]
> Build more public facilities and raise care workers’ wages to achieve ‘zero’ waiting list to enter childcare centers [March 13, 2016]
The essence of the ministry’s measures is to increase the total admission capacity of existing day-nurseries. Under the measures, for example, the ministry will increase the fixed number of children for small-sized care facilities from the current 19 to 22. Furthermore, the ministry will allow these facilities, even if they have no qualified childcare workers, to accept children.
The Welfare Ministry’s scheme requires local governments to enroll more children in their childcare facilities by lowering their own standards for the size of facilities if those standards exceed the national standards.
The Abe government plans to encourage private companies to build more childcare facilities starting in April. The government will also permit these facility operators to hire workers without childcare qualifications and neglect equipping them with an outdoor play space and a kitchen.
Those who face the problem of children on waiting lists for admission to authorized childcare centers are mainly parents of children under the age of two. These children need to receive careful childcare services. Therefore, the expansion of fixed capacity of daycare centers will lead to causing childcare workers to physically and mentally shoulder heavier burdens.
The need now is for the national government to cancel its plan to cram children into day-nurseries and construct more authorized nurseries with measures to provide higher wages for workers and make proper use of empty spaces in public facilities.
Past related articles:
> City’s plan to close all public childcare centers provokes fierce backlash from public [March 17, 2016]
> Build more public facilities and raise care workers’ wages to achieve ‘zero’ waiting list to enter childcare centers [March 13, 2016]
