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Officials in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district hope the government will foot the bill to introduce full-day kindergarten through an initiative endorsed this week by B.C. Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid.
Her commitment to all-day kindergarten, first proposed by Premier Gordon Campbell in his 2008 throne speech, comes on the heels of news that Ontario will work toward optional full-time classes for four- and five-year-olds in some areas of that province by 2010, at an estimated cost of up to $990 million per year.
When first discussed last year, B.C.'s Ministry of Education was considering instituting full-day kindergarten for five-year-olds as early as this September, with the possibility it could be expanded to include four-year-olds by 2010 and three-year-olds by 2012, but funding constraints have led to the project being postponed indefinitely.
The operating cost of full-day kindergarten in B.C. is estimated at $600 million per year, which would cover hiring more teachers and early childhood educators, but doesn't include the additional infrastructure costs.
Plans to expand kindergarten in B.C. and Ontario are in response to studies that show children between the ages of three and five are at an ideal age to begin learning and, according to some experts, knowledge gained in that period can influence a child's entire life.
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec are the only regions to run full-day programs for five-year-olds.
Going into her first cabinet meeting since replacing Shirley Bond as education minister earlier this month, MacDiamid said the "uncertain world economy" means she can't put a timeline on the kindergarten project, but "it's possible" it could be implemented by 2010.
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- reprinted from Daily News (Nanaimo)