Thousands of parents could miss out on free early childhood education for their youngsters because they cannot get access to the scheme.

The Government is being urged to come clean on its commitment to 20 hours a week of free early-childhood education, as newly-issued documents suggest parents may have problems finding centres operating the scheme in their area.

National yesterday seized on Ministry of Education papers which suggest centres covering 14 per cent of New Zealand will not offer the free hours.

Early forecasts also predicted that centres covering 47 per cent of the country had little or no capacity to meet additional demand expected under the free hours policy.

Rural areas were considered the most likely to be unable to provide free hours, although a plan to let kohanga reo with qualified teachers into the scheme could change that.

Labour campaigned strongly on its 20 hours of free education for 3 and 4-year-olds policy for the 2005 election.

It is due to come into effect on July 1, and Education Minister Steve Maharey has said he expects the policy to benefit up to 92,000 children in its first year.

But National yesterday said the Government needed to tell parents who were factoring the policy into their budget planning that they they might not be able to take advantage of it.

"It's time to give parents the facts, not false hope, over the 20 hours free policy," National's early childhood education spokeswoman, Paula Bennett, said yesterday.

"The Government campaigned on 20 hours free, yet had no idea how it was going to deliver."

Early childhood education providers can decide whether they offer the 20 hours of free time.

One of the main elements in their decision will be the amount of money the Government will give them for each child.

Providers are now mulling over those rates, announced by Mr Maharey just before Christmas, and trying to work out if they make the free care worth providing.

The Government has offered between $4.09 and $10.60 an hour a child for 20 weekly free hours.

But some providers believe the rates are not high enough.