Schwerin (dpa/mv) – Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is opposed to the federal government’s planned discontinuation of the funding program for so-called language day-care centers, in which children with language deficits receive special support. At its meeting in Schwerin on Tuesday, the state government decided to submit an initiative proposal to the Bundesrat to continue the program started in 2016. According to the will of the traffic light coalition in Berlin, the separate funding should expire at the end of 2022. Language support is then to be integrated into the “Kita Quality Act”, the successor to the so-called Good Kita Act, without additional funds being made available.
“This is a cut at the expense of children’s support. The federal government is abdicating its responsibility,” criticized Education Minister Simone Oldenburg (left). The need for support throughout Germany is very high. According to the minister, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania alone, 171 specialists for language support in 140 language day-care centers are financed with the help of federal funds. The state received well over four million euros in 2022 alone. “We demand that the federal government continue the language daycare program beyond 2022,” said Oldenburg.
According to the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, federal funds of 248 million euros are still available for the current year for the targeted support of children with special language needs. In principle, the financing of schools and day-care centers is a matter for the federal states. However, the federal government had decided to provide additional funds with the so-called Good Daycare Act. With the successor law, four billion euros should be available in the next two years.
