Daycare law as an overdue step towards equal opportunities in education

It took a very long time for a realization to become established in German politics that has long been part of the basics in educational research: If you want to close the growing gap between children from parents with a lack of education and those with a background of education, you must not just start supporting weaker boys and girls at school.

Additional money alone is not enough

Then in many cases it is already too late. Children who enter first grade and only speak fragments of German or cannot sit still in a chair and listen for more than three seconds often have no chance of getting anywhere in school.

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Only by hanging and bending do they manage to get a degree or leave school without it. In the best case scenario, they remain far below their potential. A country with a shortage of skilled workers cannot afford that either. That's why Family Minister Karin Prien's new daycare law is a long overdue step. Like schools, daycare centers need uniform quality standards. They are not just there to provide child care. They are an educational institution. That's how they finally have to be treated. The times when children only play with building blocks or do crafts and are quickly taught a few rules of behavior for school in their final year should finally be over.

Targeted language support must begin in daycare centers. This is the only way to better integrate children from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds - in many places primarily, but not only, migrant backgrounds - into the education system. It is not yet clear whether the law will be a “game changer” as Prien hopes it will be. This will depend above all on whether the uniform quality standards for daycare centers are met. Additional money alone is not enough.