«One in three children did not receive a voucher for daycare and after-school programs this year—the second year in a row" pandemic», states the deputy head of SYRIZA's Social Solidarity Sector in a press release, Theano Fotiou.
According to Ms. Fotiou, this is «the chronicle of a rejection foretold, beginning with the delay in the start of the application submission period which began on July 19. The goal is to reduce the total number of submitted and completed applications, to avoid any issues during the summer break, and ultimately to prevent thousands of parents from being unable to use their vouchers because they cannot enroll their children, since the deadline is September 10.».
He then places the blame on the relevant deputy minister, Domna Michailidou noting: «We had reported all of this to Parliament in a timely manner.” Ms. Michailidou, of course, never hesitated to promise at least 200,000 free vouchers for 2021–22 every time. Due to the pandemic crisis that has affected hundreds of thousands of working parents, the initial goal was not met, as applications were submitted this year for nearly 251,000 children, compared to 229,000 last year. The excuse that 83,000 children were rejected for exceeding income criteria is ridiculous and unfounded, since the thresholds are very high (33,000 for two children up to 42,000 for five children)—figures that are practically out of reach for the majority of workers.
Specifically regarding the KDAPs, nearly 129,000 applications were submitted, and the figure of 113,877 announced by EETAA refers to complete applications. Given that 63,000 applications were approved, this means that this year, just like last year, 65,000 children were left out of the KAP program.
