This article originally appeared on our sister website, Urban Family Shanghai.
By Urban Family
Whether or not kids receive an adequate preschool education has always been a top concern of parents living in Shanghai. Well, they can now breathe a sigh of relief as the city plans to set up at least 30 new kindergartens annually, reports Shine.
The good news was confirmed by Lu Jing, director of the Shanghai Education Commission, during a radio interview on Tuesday. According to Lu, the surge in the number of babies was predicted more than a decade ago. Therefore, they have made preparations. Currently, the kindergarten enrollment rate can maintain levels of above 92 percent and is able to satisfy the requirement of preschool kids.
About the new kindergartens each year, Lu explained that they would all be located in districts with large numbers of infants to avoid possible shortages.
Image via Pexels
Apart from facilities, the Shanghai Education Commission has made efforts to solve the continuous lack of kindergarten teachers as well. "Since 2010, the number of teaching staff has increased from 41,000 to 71,000, up 73 percent," stated Lu. "The figure is much higher than that of kindergarten kids, which amounts to 43 percent."
Speaking of childcare services, Lu stated that there are currently 565 certified nurseries across the city and 50 more will be built this year. "We hope every neighborhood in Shanghai can own at least one nursery in two to three years, so that all residents can enjoy qualified childcare services within walking distance," expressed Lu.
Meanwhile, they will continue to improve the campus security and food safety of these preschool facilities based on the latest regulations to prohibit incidents from happening again. "The surveillance cameras should cover every corner of the facility but the restroom," emphasized Lu.
[Cover image via Pexels]
This article was originally published by our sister magazine Urban Family Shanghai. For more articles like this, visit the Urban Family website, or follow the Urban Family WeChat account (ID: urbanfamilyshanghai).
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