Early childhood education is on the rise
More and more Luxembourgish parents are sending their children to pre-school education. The Minister of Education, Claude Meisch, cites the following figures:
- 2019/2020 — 3916 students;
- 2020/2021 — 4356;
- 2021/2022 — 4523.
As of June 2022, the majority of these children (3300 children aged 3 years and over) were benefiting from some sort of daycare structure as a supplement to pre-primary education. This includes school houses, nurseries and helpers.
Also, the minister’s data shows that part-time school is not as popular as one might expect. Only a little less than a third of parents used it last school year. And 3126 students — 69% — went to school full time.
In 16 out of 102 municipalities (including Luxembourg, Dudelange and Esch-sur-Alzette) in 2021/2022, it was possible to enroll a child for pre-school education during the school year. But about 30 municipalities, including Differdange, have categorically refused this additional measure.
However, children rarely use this opportunity anyways. In 2021/2022, only 132 students entered preschool education not from at the start of the year. Ten of them started their studies during the 3rd semester. Those who have recently moved are not included in these statistics: they do not begin their studies anew, but resume from the moment they left off.
