Toddlers are going to universities

The programme "Toddler at the University" was developed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. As part of this initiative, 80 percent costs of setting up nurseries, children\'s clubs or day care places, as well as 80 percent cost of maintaining them will be reimbursed. Universities and cooperating entities (foundations, associations, or even already operating nurseries that have entered into an agreement with the university to provide care for university children) could participate in this pilot edition. The competition offers could be submitted to the competent provincial offices until March 11.

PAP was informed by the Ministry of Science press office, it is already known - and this is still incomplete information - that the institutions applying for funds from the programme include the Jagiellonian University, University of Warsaw, University of Silesia, University of Rzeszów, Medical University of Lublin, Silesian University of Technology, Czestochowa University of Technology and the State Higher Vocational School in Leszno. "The exact number of universities and students, who will benefit from the support of the TODDLER programme, will be known after reviewing the competition applications and announced by the Ministry of Labour by April 22" - announced the press office of the Ministry of Science.

The purpose of the pilot edition in 2015 was to test the interest of universities in this programme and identify the main barriers to creation of childcare facilities for students. According to the Ministry of Science the problem could be, for example, the lack of certified caregivers. "Training caregivers for young children takes time. Next year, this should not be a problem anymore, and universities inspired by this year’s edition will find such caregivers in advance" - hope the representatives of the Ministry of Science.

Ministry of Science reported that many of the schools that chose not to start in the competition in 2015, announced that they would prepare facilities and staff and take part in the next edition of the competition. "Lack of nurseries and children\'s clubs at universities is often due to lack of money, but also due to insufficient knowledge about existing funding opportunities or lack of knowledge about the problems of undergraduate and graduate students with learning or scientific work and child care" - commented the Ministry of Science.

The pilot edition also showed, however, that in Poland there are centres where university childcare is not needed, because the local government has already organized network of facilities - for example in Plock.

According to the Ministry of Science estimates, so far only a dozen universities in Poland offered childcare. Existing university nurseries were often only available to employees, not students or young researchers. Ministry of Science decided to show that universities should be family friendly places.

The problem of a small number of childcare places at universities was brought to the attention of the ministries by students from the Independent Students’ Association of the University of Warsaw in October 2014, and the ministries quickly agreed to their proposal.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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