Many parents kept their children at home from kindergarten after the reopening of society. In several districts in Oslo, only half of the children attended kindergarten. The Minister of Education and Research expresses concern over this.
The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training has examined the absence situation in almost 5,500 kindergartens in Norway – which form 97 per cent of all the country’s kindergartens.
The survey shows that many chose to keep the child at home even after the kindergartens reopened in week 18. The main reason was that one or both parents were at home, according to the directorate.
All kindergartens in the country were closed to almost all children between March 16 and April 27. Only children of two parents who both worked in critical social functions received an offer of kindergarten for their children.
Concern over low attendance
“I get worried when I hear that so many children were home the first time after the reopening. Fortunately, the vast majority returned eventually. Although the infection situation is not the same now as just before the summer, I hope parents continue to send their children to kindergarten and that they experience it as safe”, says Minister of Education and Integration Guri Melby (V).
Children with a minority background participated to a lesser extent in the kindergarten during the time after the reopening, and 43 per cent were at home in the second week. In June, however, 90 percent were back again.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
Be the first to comment on "Almost one in four children stayed home from kindergarten after the reopening of society"