This Day, That Year
ItemfromMarch9,1982, inChinaDaily:Children cheerattheFriendshipKindergarteninShanghai.
Chinaallocated100millionyuantohelpsetup morethan7,000newkindergartensandnurseries acrossthecountrylastyear, accordingtotheStateCouncil’sgroupinchargeofpreschooleducation....
InBeijing,167preschools werebuiltin1981,bringing thetotalto6,495withan enrollmentof280,000children.
The Ministry of Education has vowed to build more kindergartens to meet the surging demand for preschools following the implementation of the universal second-child policy early last year.
Financial support will also be provided for the construction of new private kindergartens, the ministry said.
The government estimates that more than 3 million additional babies will be born annually under the second-child policy in the next few years.
By 2020, the total number of babies born under the policy will reach 17 million, putting more strain on preschool resources.
Currently there are 223,700 kindergartens across the country, while officials estimate that close to 100,000 more are needed by 2021.
In the past five years, central and local governments have allocated 400 billion yuan ($58 billion) for preschool education, according to the Ministry of Education.
There have also been calls for compulsory education to be extended to preschools.