"Currently nearly 2/3 of the Chinese families can't afford more than 1 year of preschool education in kindergartens," said Zhu Jiaxiong, an expert on preschool education, at the 1st Children Education Expo in Guangzhou.
Why can't the Chinese afford kindergartens when they are witnessing an economic boom in the country? Experts believe the excessive charges of kindergartens should be blamed.
Preschool education plays an irreplaceable role in the forming of one's personality. However, preschool education does not come within the province of the compulsory education in China, so it can't get enough financial support from the government. Thus many private kindergartens operate in a totally commercial way. Their high cost in ads finally goes to the customers.
Public kindergartens also charge very high, as they can't get enough allowances from the government, either.
(Chinanews.cn December 28, 2006)
