Keep kindergarten kids safe

Children at a branch of the kindergarten chain RYB Education in Beijing have claimed they were given unidentified white tablets and injections by their teachers. Some parents alleged their children were sexually assaulted. The local education commission and the police are investigating the case. If the children were given injections and medication without their parents’ knowledge or consent, we hope those involved will be held answerable for their illegal deeds.

But the incident, if confirmed, is not the first of its kind. Earlier this month, there were reports that teachers and cleaning staff at the child-care center of leading travel services provider Ctrip beat the children under their care and forced them to eat mustard.

Some say that such cases are rare. True, but every time such a case happens, it means many children have suffered, and the physical and psychological wounds might torment them for life. It is urgent to prevent these things from happening in the first place. Measures are necessary to prevent child abuse in kindergartens: First, the Criminal Law and the Law on the Protection of Minors must be strictly implemented.

Second, many kindergartens have already installed cameras, and the next step should be to increase the number of cameras to make sure they cover every corner.

Third, kindergartens register with either local education bureaus or commerce bureaus, and neither of the two agencies is given full responsibility for regulating them. That has resulted in a lack of supervision. Kindergartens must be put under stricter supervision of a single governmental department.

Fourth, pre-school teachers must be better trained. Children are the future of the country; we must protect our children from today.