Place guarantee to ECEC

There is no legal guarantee to a place in ECEC for younger children. Day nurseries operate in all towns and villages where 10 or more children live. In the case of communities with fewer than 10 children, regional day nurseries are established, and transport is provided free of charge by the Government. There are a small number of day nurseries operating with fewer than 10 children enrolled, where the remoteness of the location does not allow for the establishment of a regional institution.
Places in public day nurseries are limited, as there are very few of them compared with community and private nurseries.
From the age of 4 years and 5 months old, pre-primary education (prodimotiki) is compulsory. From this age, every child has a guarantee of a free place in a kindergarten. A child must be registered in his/her educational district area.
The public kindergartens are regulated by Regulations.

Affordability

Pre-primary education is provided by the state, free of charge, for children attending public kindergartens for 26 hours per week. In addition, all-day optional public pre-primary schools function on a voluntary basis from the end of September until the end of June. All-day students are charged only for their food.
Concerning home-based provision, children from birth until the age of 4 years and 5 months old may attend home-based care (kat΄oikon paidokomoi), which operates under the jurisdiction of the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare.
From the age of 4 years and 8 months, education at home applies only to children with special needs or serious illness who cannot attend a kindergarten.
Based on a recent decision of the Council of Ministers (Proposal no 958/2025), tuition fees in public kindergartens for children aged 3 to 4 years and 5 months are abolished, starting from the 2025–2026 school year.
For the education of the children in community kindergartens, parents or guardians pay tuition fees, the amount of which is determined by the owner of the community kindergarten according to the financial obligations and the particularities of each community kindergarten. The setting of tuition fees, however, is by no means intended to generate profit.
Private kindergartens decide on the tuition fees according to the services that they provide.