From Canada.com
While full-day kindergarten for five-year-olds in B.C.'s schools
looks to be inevitable, it appears unlikely that it will be in place by
September.
Education Minister Shirley Bond said on Tuesday that,
while the ministry does intend to provide full-day kindergarten
sometime in the future, much more work and study has to be completed.
When
first discussed last year, the ministry was considering institute
full-day kindergarten for five-year-olds as early as September, with
the possibility it could be expanded to include four-year-olds by 2010
and three-year-olds by 2012.
Officials in Nanaimo-Ladysmith are withholding comment until the specifics of the plan are laid out.
Bond said the ministry recognizes the importance of investing in a child's early years to support his or her lifelong success.
"That's
why the Early Childhood Learning Agency has been studying the
feasibility of full-day kindergarten for five-year-olds and, in the
future, optional full-day programs for four-year-olds and
three-year-olds," she said.
"We intend to move forward with our plans to provide full-day kindergarten for every five-year-old in the province.
"However,
there is still more work to do at the district and ministry level
before we are able to determine the best way to move forward."
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