Financing for equity in pre-primary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
The official entrance age to pre-primary education is 3 (UIS 2024 estimates). The number of years of free pre-primary education granted in legal frameworks is 4 (UIS 2024 estimates). No data is found regarding the number of years of compulsory pre-primary education granted in legal frameworks. The net enrolment rate for pre-primary for both sexes is 8.12% (UIS 2017 estimates).
Governance
According to the 2015 Government Order, the Ministry of Finance functions as the central budget authority, shaping the overall resource envelope for subnational governments through the allocation and negotiation of intergovernmental fiscal transfers and co-leading the design of the normative financing reform alongside the Ministry of Education and Science and local executive bodies.
Tuition-free status
Pre-primary education is not tuition-free but fees are regulated by the government.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
The main local allocation mechanism for public preschools is normative (per-capita) financing, introduced through the 2015 Government Order. The order also specifies that local executive bodies are required to fund preschools using approved minimum standard rates and special coefficients. However, the order does not specify that these adjustments are explicitly tied to particular groups (e.g., disability, ethnicity) as a dedicated equity top-up.
2. Education resources to institutions
Public preschools operate on a cost-sharing model. According to the 2015 Government Order, public preschools receive public budget financing, primarily through local budgets (supported by shared taxes and transfers) and allocated via the normative (per-capita) approach with minimum rates and coefficients.
Parents also contribute a regulated fee to cover elements of a child’s attendance, meals, and related services. A 2016 government resolution standardised this parental fee framework by setting common rules on eligibility, acceptable fee ranges, and payment procedures.
Furthermore, according to the 2014 Law on Education, the state (including local authorities) may provide financial support to accredited non-state preschool institutions within a cost framework linked to state preschool training and upbringing costs; however, non-state institutions are generally financed by their founders.
3. Education resources to students and families
No information is found.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
The 2010 Law on Social Protection of People with Disabilities provides that the state should provide persons with disabilities with free preschool education.
Furthermore, the Targeted Social Assistance (TSA) program, implemented by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, explicitly targets low-income families and lists beneficiary categories that include low-income families with children under 16 and with persons with disabilities. For 2025, it specifies a base benefit plus additional amounts per child under 16.
