Protect preschools from profiteering and private interests

The Socialist Party of Iceland (Sósíalistaflokkur Íslands) will put a discussion on the harmful effects of large corporations operating preschools on the agenda for the first city council meeting in 2025.

This is much needed, as the agenda also includes a proposal from the Independence Party to repeal regulations that protect preschools from some of the dangers that arise when large corporations enter the preschool sector, either directly for profit or with the aim of getting their employees back to work as soon as possible. The preschool is even called "daycare" in the proposal.

Kristín Dýrfjörð, a preschool teacher and associate professor of early childhood education at the University of Akureyri, writes about the privatization of the preschool system in Reykjavík, "city residents have the right to demand responsibility and long-term thinking instead of privatization under the guise of short-term warmth. The solution is not to hand over the education of the youngest children in society to private entities. The solution is to protect and strengthen the system that has been built on the foundation of justice, equality, and democracy." She criticizes the Progressive Party's policy on preschool matters, as the party now has both the mayor and the chairman of the School and Recreation Council from its ranks.

The Socialist Party agrees with this criticism. It is right to emphasize to city council members how this path ends where it has been allowed to run its course.