Parents not told of discount, report claims

The Education Ministry gives a 10% discount for the second child if a family has two children aged under four enrolled at any kindergarten.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
Tel Aviv parents are not being told that if they have two children under the age of four they are entitled to an Education Ministry-authorized 10 percent discount at municipal or private kindergartens, reports Yediot Tel Aviv. The newspaper says the city is making little effort to let the public know about the discount and parents must request it specially, in contrast to neighboring city Ramat Gan, where the discount is automatically given. According to the report, the Education Ministry authorizes the 10% discount for the second child if a family has two children aged under four enrolled at any kindergarten, irrespective of whether it is municipal or private. A Tel Aviv municipal spokesman said the discount was detailed in the enrollment booklet sent to parents and in the city's website. But the newspaper said the discount was mentioned only in fine print on an inside page of the booklet, and many Tel Aviv parents were clearly unaware of it. The report said that even when parents did know of the discount, they had to ask for it, while in Ramat Gan eligible families were automatically given the discount at the time of enrollment. Several Tel Aviv parents expressed anger that the city was not making greater efforts to notify them of the discount and to provide it automatically. "It is irritating to learn that you are entitled to a discount and that you haven't been given it," one father said. And another asked, "Isn't it the job of the city to inform us of this?" Meretz councilor Meital Lahavi said the issue was "shameful," adding that the city knew how to collect money from residents, but when residents had rights no-one bothered to inform them. The municipal spokesman said parents could find all the details relating to the discount in the city's website or in the booklet distributed to parents, and should present the required documents to the city in order to receive it.