Kindergarten vouchers should continue, report says

The kindergarten voucher scheme is an 'appropriate mechanism' for funding preschool education and should be extended beyond 2012, the Education Commission says in a report published yesterday. It launched the first major review of the scheme last year after the Legislative Council's education panel twice passed a motion demanding one, following a catalogue of complaints from parents and preschool leaders. The scheme, launched in 2006, was to be reviewed in 2011-2012, but complaints and protests over soaring fees, teacher shortages and reduced support for needy children prompted an earlier assessment.