Nova Scotia’s universal pre-primary program for four-year-olds is set to expand again this fall as the province enters year three of a four-year rollout.
Education Minister Zach Churchill says pre-primary will be offered in a further 56 schools, bringing the total number of schools to 201 across Nova Scotia.
READ MORE: New report calls for systemic change in NS early childhood education
The $10.2-million expansion is to include 84 new classrooms and will allow around 1,400 children to access the program.
So far the province has spent $34.2-million on a program that saw more than 3,000 children enrolled for the current school year.
WATCH: Pre-primary program in Nova Scotia expands
The Education Department says about 224 more early childhood educators will be needed to support the new classrooms and the overall goal is to have 400 employed by the pre-primary program next year.
READ MORE: Finding enough workers still a challenge as Nova Scotia rolls out pre-primary
A key Liberal campaign promise during the May 2017 election, pre-primary was launched in September of that year in 54 classes in 45 schools.
The department said Wednesday that the implementation of pre-primary has been completed in the province’s French-language schools and at the Strait Regional Centre for Education in Cape Breton.
It said the Tri-County and South Shore Regional Centres for Education will fully implement the program this fall.
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