Labor Minister Tomás Rau defended the universal nursery project during a session in the Senate Education Commission. Senator Yasna Provoste questioned that the initiative does not prioritize children and lacks true universality.
In the discussion of the Sala Cuna Universal project, Rau stated that the government incorporated elements from previous initiatives of Presidents Boric and Piñera. He noted that it is not a foundational project and explained that the gradual rollout responds to supply and resource limitations.
Senator Yasna Provoste criticized that the plan does not center its focus on boys and girls. She pointed out that a child of a mother seeking employment would have to wait 36 months and questioned the definition of universality given its dependence on the gender or employment sector of the parents.
Provoste also expressed concern over the rushed processing and the one-year delay in implementation once approved. She noted that the state as an employer places its workers at the end of the line.