Aprojunji warns Congress that 2026 budget cuts threaten early childhood education in Chile

From the union’s perspective, the 2026 budget does not create new positions even though Junji plans to open 16 new kindergartens that would require 235 additional staff—an omission that could undermine compliance with the Early Childhood Education Modernization Law and the Karin Law by forcing current personnel to take on greater responsibilities without reinforcements or additional resources.

The Citizen

08/10/2025 6:25pm

The union representing employees at Chile’s National Board of Kindergartens (Aprojunji) voiced deep concern about the 2026 Budget Bill’s impact on public early childhood education during testimony to the National Congress’s Joint Budget Committee.

Aprojunji’s national president and ANEF vice president, Katherine Valle González, speaking on behalf of more than 8,000 Junji workers, noted that the bill proposes a CLP 11.9 billion reduction compared with the 2025 budget, directly affecting essential lines for transfers, investment, and capital expenditures.

Aprojunji warned that the 2026 proposal creates no new positions, even though Junji plans to open 16 new kindergartens that would require 235 additional staff.

This omission, Valle said, jeopardizes compliance with the Early Childhood Education Modernization Law and the Karin Law, because current staff would be forced to take on greater responsibilities without reinforcements or additional funding.

“Although the budget line for teaching materials shows an increase, it includes resources assigned to VTF (transfer-of-funds) centers, which reduces the availability of pedagogical supplies for the more than 1,700 Junji preschools nationwide,” the union leader explained.

In the same vein, the organization flagged a lack of financing for evacuation carts—essential for child safety. Of 1,139 carts requested, only 183 were approved. “We cannot allow children’s safety to depend on the efforts of families. It is the State’s duty to guarantee safe conditions for every preschool,” emphasized Katherine Valle.

Finally, Aprojunji reiterated the need to end unequal treatment in the modernization allowance, which currently grants Junji only 22% compared with 30.6% for the rest of the public sector. The union called for a partial leveling to 25%—at an estimated annual cost of CLP 8.4 billion—as an initial step to close this historic gap.

The group also urged authorities to standardize the early childhood academic calendar and grant more summer recess days to early education workers, aiming to align working conditions with other levels of the education system.