Preschools need more help

The demand for preschool education is rising along with the increasing population of children. To meet the demand, education authorities have to plan and distribute resources in advance on the basis of population surveys, says Mu Guangzong, a professor at the Institute of Population Research, Peking University.

But the country, especially big cities such as Beijing, does not have enough kindergartens to accommodate all preschool-age children. Concurrently, parents are finding it increasingly difficult to get their children admitted to a kindergarten and struggling to cope with rising entrance fees.

Take Beijing for example. The municipal government says the city's current preschool education resources can meet the demand only of parents who have a Beijing hukou (house registration). This means a great number of migrant workers' children cannot be admitted to kindergartens.