New fines for parents' lateness in kindergarten in Germany
In the Bavarian city of Fellburg, a new measure will come into effect on September 1 for parents who usually pick up their children from kindergarten late. Now, for every 15 minutes of delay, they will have to pay 10 euros. This decision affects all forms of preschool institutions - nurseries and kindergartens.
This measure was prompted by complaints from the educators at the Rappelkiste kindergarten. They shared that they are increasingly forced to stay at work longer than necessary - sometimes up to half an hour after the end of the working day, and this overtime is not compensated.
The official working hours are from Monday to Thursday until 4:00 PM, and on Friday until 3:00 PM. After two warnings, parents will have to pay 10 euros for every 15 minutes of delay. This decision was made unanimously by the city council.
Scandal in China
It is noteworthy that in China, hundreds of children were poisoned by lead in a kindergarten. Six people, including an investor, the director, and cooks of the kindergarten, were arrested in Gansu province (Northwest China) after intentionally adding toxic lead-based dyes to children's food, resulting in 247 preschoolers being poisoned.
Earlier, it was reported in 'Glavkom' that in Gansu province, law enforcement detained eight suspects in connection with the mass poisoning of children with lead in one of the local preschools.
Across Europe, there is growing attention to punctuality and discipline in children's institutions. Germany has decided to take a step forward by introducing fines for parents' lateness in kindergarten. Such measures are aimed at improving the organization of working time and avoiding additional efforts for educators. At the same time, an investigation continues in China regarding the scandalous situation of children being poisoned in one of the kindergartens.