A NEW 22-place kindergarten will be built at Mareeba to cut the huge waiting list for children wanting to get into early education.

Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek on Monday announced a new building program for eight rural and regional communities, including Mareeba.

The kindergarten will be built next year on the site of the Mareeba State School.

Mr Langbroek said all children deserved the life-long benefits of a quality kindergarten program, whether they lived in the city or the bush.

“Research shows that children who participate in a quality early childhood education program are better prepared to start school,” he said.

Mareeba was chosen because of an unmet demand for places.

Mareeba State School principal Shirlee Gallo was ecstatic.

“This is fantastic. There is a huge waiting list for kids,” she said.

“Not every kid has access to a kindergarten place due to limited places.

“There are some wonderful kindergartens at Mareeba but unfortunately we don’t have enough places for every child to have access.”

Mrs Gallo said the biggest benefit of having the kindergarten on site was connecting early education to the primary school.

“It is a natural progression, a seamless progression into the state school,” she said.

Children would have a sense of ownership and belonging to Mareeba State School from the beginning.

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