BEIJING (Reuters) -China will waive tuition fees for children in their final year at public kindergartens, and reduce them for eligible private schools from the next term, the government said on Tuesday, in a phased roll-out of free pre-school education.
The measures came after China unveiled last week a childcare subsidy until the age of three, in an effort to spur a flagging birth rate, as fewer young people choose to have children.
Guidelines from the State Council, or cabinet, said the government would provide subsidies to offset the financial impact of the measures on kindergartens.
It urged local governments to strengthen fund allocation and oversight to ensure kindergartens’ normal operation and prevent wage arrears.
Salaries of public kindergarten teachers should be included in fiscal guarantees to ensure timely and full payment, it added.
High costs of childcare and education, in addition to rising anxieties about jobs, have discouraged many young Chinese from getting married and starting a family.
In 2024, the population fell for a third consecutive year, with experts warning the situation could worsen, after decades of falling birth rates in the wake of a one-child policy enforced from 1980 to 2015, coupled with rapid urbanisation.
(Reporting by Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Clarence Fernandez)
