Children take part in a music class at Tashan Kindergarten in Yantai city, Shandong province, on Monday. [Photo/Xinhua]

Parents are questioning the professionalism of kindergarten teachers after it emerged that more than 90 percent of childcare workers in Jiangsu province are unlicensed.

Chen Lingfu, vice-president of Nanjing Normal University and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, released the figure during a speech he made on Wednesday.

Chen said the specialization level of kindergarten teachers was low and claimed some teachers were "irresponsible and lacking benevolence".

During the past year, the media has reported several cases of violence perpetrated by kindergarten teachers against children. Incidents included a teacher sticking needles into a child's hands and another burning seven children's faces with an electric iron.

Parents, grandparents and others who care for children said they were worried about Chen's comments.

"I believe the violence is not isolated and I am worried about the quality of kindergartens," said Shen Yin, a 60-year-old Beijing resident who is hesitating about whether or not to send her grandson to kindergarten this autumn.

"If my grandson cannot get a place at a public kindergarten, which would be more reliable than a private one, I might keep him at home and take care of him until he starts regular school at 6," she said.

The country currently has around 60 million children aged between 3 and 6 but State-run kindergartens can only accept about 41 percent of them, Beijing Times reported on Monday.