A policy at one kindergarten requiring non-local parents to have an apartment of at least 80 square meters before their children are eligible to enroll has stirred controversy in Foshan City of Guangdong Province.

Children can't enroll if parents own smaller flat. [ Photo / Sohu.com ]

Officials at the public kindergarten and local education authorities said the policy is meant to "make sure they can meet the demands of non-locals who can afford 80-square-meter apartments," the Beijing News reported.

Liang Yongbo, a man who lives in Foshan but doesn't hold his Hukou, or permanent residency, in the city complained that his son cannot be enrolled at the Huangqi Central Kindergarten because he has an apartment of only 79 square meters.

Some non-locals complained that the policy is obviously discriminatory, especially toward those who cannot afford such a big apartment.

The headmaster of the kindergarten, Liang Wanyun, said the policy was based on another regulation that says non-locals must purchase an apartment of at least 80 square meters before their children are eligible for free education in the city.

Luo Liying, an official with Dali Town Education Bureau, said that the new policy is being used for only the one kindergarten for now as part of a pilot project. It may be applied at all the 83 kindergartens in the city if it proves to be good, Luo said.

She said the new policy actually gives non-locals a fair chance of enrolling because otherwise, non-local children might not have any chance to get in. There is not even enough room for local children, she said.

Luo denied that the policy was made to stimulate the real estate market in the city, noting that the policy on apartment sizes was issued in Foshan as early as 2008.