Minister outlines plan for better daycare

Better pay and improved work conditions will make daycare workers want to remain in their jobs.

It should be easier to study for a degree in pedagogy, and certain changes need to be made to the daycare legislation.

So says Djóni Nolsøe Joensen, the Minister of Children and Education, in a response to an enquiry in Parliament about how the daycare system can be improved.

 >> SEE ALSO Shortage of qualified pedagogues

Work is underway on a new statistical system for child development with the aim of making the figures more reliable and internationally comparable.

The minister acknowledges that daycare centres are unable to meet the requirement in the law on daycare centres, which requires at least 66 percent of daycare centre staff to be qualified pedagogues.

 >> SEE ALSO Pedagogy “no longer top priority in daycare”

This staff shortage can, he says, be tackled by doubling the intake of pedagogy students in the coming years.

“And, by making some changes to the law on daycare centres, we can get more emphasis on pedagogy in our daycare centres,” he says.

The minister is currently evaluating a report from the daycare centre commission on how to improve the daycare system.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.