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Preschools are asking parents to pay up to $102.50 a week in optional charges for children getting "free" education.
A new study for the New Zealand Council for Educational Research showed 34 per cent of services offering the scheme for 3- and 4-year-olds asked parents for optional charges for the free hours, while 10 per cent asked for voluntary donations.
It is the first published countrywide indication of the optional charges centres have requested since the scheme began in July last year. The Ministry of Education conducted its own early impact study but is yet to release it.
Under the Government initiative, preschools that provide extra services can ask parents to contribute through voluntary donations or optional charges.
The NZCER study found half of those with optional charges requested less than $5 week and a further 24 per cent charged $5-$20 a week. The highest was $102.50 a week.
Of centres asking for optional charges, it found 52 per cent did so for resources, while 50 per cent charged for extra staff, 46 per cent for regular excursions and 38 per cent for food.
National Party education spokeswoman Anne Tolley said the results showed Labour's naming of the policy as free was "misleading".
