Towns raise fees for kindergartens amid funding shift, but some hold off

Starting in January 2025, the state will take over the funding of kindergartens in Slovakia.

By: sme.sk

Nov 12 2024
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Towns raise fees for kindergar

Starting in January 2025, state funding will replace municipal budgets for the operation of kindergartens in Slovakia. However, parents in some towns will still face higher fees for these services.

As reported by Hospodárske noviny, a business daily, teacher salaries and education in kindergartens will be funded from the Education Ministry’s budget. This shift will reduce municipalities’ share of personal income tax revenues, which they have often used to finance kindergartens - from 70 percent to 56.1 percent, causing local governments to lose €559 million. Despite this, municipalities will still have to contribute to kindergarten funding, such as covering salaries for kitchen staff.

Local governments are now seeking ways to plug this financial gap. According to Jozef Božik, the head of the Association of Towns and Villages of Slovakia (ZMOS), 70 percent of municipalities have opted to increase various fees, including those for kindergartens and crèches.

In Michalovce, in eastern Slovakia, the monthly kindergarten fee has already risen. For parents with permanent residence in the city, the fee has increased from €20 to €25 per child. For those without permanent residence, the fee has climbed from €40 to €50. These fees do not include meal costs, which could increase the final sum by several dozen euros. The cost of day care has also gone up, from €200 to €270, excluding meal or supervision fees.

While many municipalities have yet to increase fees, cities like Nitra, Banská Bystrica, and Žilina are holding off. It remains unclear what will happen in 2025. The parliament passed the kindergarten funding reform at the end of October. In early October, a fiscal consolidation package was also approved, which will impact local governments, notably through a rise in VAT from 20 percent to 23 percent, further driving up the cost of goods and services.

Some Bratislava districts, such as Petržalka, Podunajské Biskupice, and the Old Town—home to many foreigners—have also not raised fees yet.

Currently, in the Old Town, parents with permanent residence pay €55 per month for kindergarten, while those without permanent residence face fees of €90. A meal costs €2.30 a day.

Looking ahead, a change in the amount of the parental contribution towards partially covering kindergarten expenses is expected in 2027. “According to the proposed amendment to the law, municipalities will not be required to set the contribution, but will instead have the option to do so,” the Education Ministry said, as quoted by the daily.