01/24/2022
Italia Domani is changing Italy. NRRP funds are being used to increase the number of nursery and pre-school places, with significant educational and social benefits.
Italy has a shortage of nursery school places, as is often reported on in the press and experienced first-hand by many Italian families, especially in the south of the country. In order to tackle this shortage, Mission 4 of the NRRP – Education and Research – has set a priority: to increase the educational offer for children aged 6 and under throughout Italy, allocating EUR 4.6 billion to the renovation and construction of new nurseries and pre-schools. This will increase the services on offer and improve their quality, make it easier for families to strike a work-life balance, promote gender equality and female employment and increase the birth rate.
Improving early childhood education, which plays such a key role in reducing cultural, social and relational disadvantages, was the natural starting point for a national plan that focuses on the future generations. In fact, a lack of nursery school places has long-term consequences on children’s education, on employment, especially female employment, and on the birth rate. The NRRP recognises children’s right to education from birth and aims to offer a unitary educational path that is suitable for this age group’s specific learning characteristics and needs, also by providing innovative learning facilities and environments.
GOALS
Early childhood education services in Italy remain below the European benchmark set in 2002, which states that 33% of children should be covered by a place. At the end of 2019, the average in Italy was still only 26.9%, meaning less than 27 places per 100 children in the country aged under three, with marked regional disparities: the EU target is exceeded in the north-east and central regions (34.5% and 35.3%, respectively) and the north-west of the country just falls short (31.4%), while figures for the south (14.5%) and the islands (15.7%) show that these regions are still very behind on this objective (2019/2020 ISTAT data – Italian National Institute of Statistics).
The Ministry of Education has published a call for NRRP funding applications, which aims to increase the services on offer by introducing at least 260 thousand new places, mainly in nursery schools, and to reach the EU’s early childhood education services target of 33% by 2026, overcoming the shortage that exists today for children in the 0-3 and 3-6 age groups. The Plan also intends to bridge the gap in the country’s southern regions, which will be receiving 55% of the funds available.
INVESTMENTS AND DEADLINES
The total investment in early childhood education amounts to EUR 4.6 billion: EUR 3 billion thanks to a dedicated public-sector call for funding applications (EUR 2.4 billion for nursery schools and another EUR 600 million for pre-schools); EUR 700 million through the ongoing call for funding applications; and, EUR 900 million available for management activities.
All municipalities can apply for funding by 28 February 2022.
The other calls for funding applications published last December, for a total of EUR 5.2 billion, refer to building innovative schools, expanding school canteens and gyms, and upgrading school buildings, as explained in this news item.
The Ministry of Education has also launched a one-stop portal that contains figures, information, fact sheets and public announcements, as well as allowing users to check the progress of projects and investments.
