Guiyang city in Guizhou province has issued guidelines on promoting inclusive preschool education, Guiyang Daily reported on Feb 6.
Inclusive schools commit to keeping their fees at no more than 150 percent of the fees of local state preschools. In exchange for doing this they receive special subsidies off the government and help to keep the cost of preschool education at an affordable level for parents.
As stated in the guidelines, by 2020, another 90 public kindergartens will be available, bringing state-owned and inclusive kindergartens to 60 percent of the total in Guiyang. And among the private schools, the percentage of inclusive ones will have reached over 60 percent by 2020.
The document emphasized regional cooperation during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, suggesting a corporate method of operation, to ensure equal access to premium quality education and continuous improvement.
It discussed strategies needed to build inclusive public services, including a certain coverage rate for preschools, and to promote the standardization of construction in rural areas.
Several priority areas were identified regarding formal occupational training and related qualifications, with a call to teachers and education managers to come together to improve the quality of education.
During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, achievements have been made in the popularization of preschool education, with participation increasing from 84,800 to 143,500 in three years, representing a participation rate of 88.6 percent in 2015.
Edited by James Skinner
