Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday evening announced the first step in his plan to offer free "education" for children ages 0-3, Maariv reported.
Free childcare was part of the coalition's election campaign.
During the first stage of the transition, working parents will receive up to 940 NIS per young child per month, in the form of negative income tax and tax credit points.
"We announce today the launch of the first stage in the plan 'Free [childcare] for ages 0-3,' as we promised during the elections," Netanyahu said. "Our plan has three main goals: The first is to lower the cost of living. The second - education. We want and know that we by enhancing the educational system in these daycares, we can improve the quality of education that these children receive. The third thing is to expand this system in order to provide supervised daycares to every working family in Israel."
"The net income will rise to up to 970 shekel per child, in the coming three years. Children who are in supervised daycares will receive full subsidies. Today there are around 120,000 such children in daycares - by the end of the year, we will reach 160,000. Our goal in this plan is to dramatically increase the [number of] supervised daycares. We will reach a situation that from age 0 to six, education is free. This is our plan, and it will place us as a frontrunner among the OECD countries."
"There will be a grant of up to 940 shekel per month, via tax credit points, for every household with working parents, the expansion of the training and supervision of the children - starting immediately, the expansion of the supervised daycare system - in a gradual process which we will complete as part of the plan."
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism) thanked Netanyahu and Education Minister Yoav Kisch (Likud) for their cooperation, and noted that the plan would cost 3.1 billion shekel each year.
"The government of Israel will continue to fight the cost of living and to help Israel's economy and the citizens of Israel," he promised.
