In two years 285 early learning centres around the country have closed their doors - a figure described as “deeply worrying” by an industry representative. Figures released by the Early Childhood Council (ECC) today showed 91 centres had shut down between July 2022 and the present - less than 10 months. Ministry of Education figures show the number of closures slowly gathering speed with 147 centres closing down in the 2022 calendar year and 138 closing during 2021. In 2020, about 110 centres shut down.
|