More efforts ahead

As it is the case with other emerging sectors, the early education industry will have to deal with many issues, not the least of which is quality control, according to insiders. As of now, companies providing preschool education services have no mature teaching system or assessment standard. “Many early education clubs or centers have no fixed and consistent curriculum or stable teaching facilities to guarantee the quality of their services,” noted Yuan Ailing, an expert with School of Education of South China Normal University in Guangdong Province. “There should be better market access standards and more strict supervision on such businesses,” she said. Experts believe the market should play its due role in this regard, as the sector remains profit-driven. “Meanwhile, the government can set requirements for businesses entering this sector and guarantee that consumers have legal channels to safeguard their rights in cases of fraud or disputes,” said Xiong Bingqi, Deputy Director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, a public education think tank. Comments to houweili@ chinafrica.cn