- The Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports has invested more than 670 million euros to increase the offer of public places for children from 0 to 3 years
Madrid, September 10, 2024. The Government of Spain will allocate 8.9 million euros for the creation of 800 new public and free places from 0 to 3 years in the Region of Murcia, as approved today by the Council of Ministers, which has approved the redistribution of 32.2 million euros to seven autonomous communities that have requested more funds for the creation of public places of the first cycle of Early Childhood Education.
Specifically, Aragón, Asturias, Castilla y León, Comunitat Valenciana, Madrid, the Region Murcia and Navarra had expressed their willingness to receive more funding within the program to promote schooling in the first cycle of Early Childhood Education with new places of public ownership, primarily for girls and boys of 1 and 2 years, which is part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Program.
The promotion of 0 to 3 years of schooling is one of the Government ' s priorities, since participation at this stage is one of the most important predictors of the improvement of the results and future educational performance of boys and girls. In addition, the availability and accessibility of these places contributes to equal opportunities, improves family reconciliation, educational equity and territorial balance.
For that reason, since 2021, the autonomous communities have received more than 670.1 million euros, thanks to which they will be able to create more than 65,000 places in this educational stage.
The redistribution approved today corresponds to funds reintegrated by the Junta de Andalucía, which of the 12,069 places for which it received funding only plans to create 1,040. The amount not executed by this community (just over 112 million euros of the 120 received) has been reintegrated and part of it has been allocated to meet the needs of the autonomous communities mentioned above.
The remaining amount of the aforementioned reimbursement (just over 80 million euros) is reserved for a new redistribution between autonomous communities and other departments (such as the Ministry of Defense), and will be allocated, until the end of 2025, to the creation of more public seats from 0 to 3 years.