The Council of Ministers gave the green light today to the allocation to Navarre of 2,777,500 euros for the creation of 250 public and free places in the first cycle of Early Childhood Education. In particular, the redistribution of 32.2 million euros between seven autonomous communities - including Navarra - that had requested more funds for the creation of public places has been approved.
Aragón, Asturias, Castilla y León, Comunitat Valenciana, Madrid, Murcia and Navarra had indicated 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 Plan.
The promotion of 0 to 3 years of schooling is one of the priorities of the Government, 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.