NE China province to increase nurseries for children under 3

CHANGCHUN - Northeast China's Jilin province recently introduced a new policy to encourage kindergartens, employers and resident communities to establish nurseries for children under three, local authorities said on Saturday.

The move is to further support the full implementation of the two-child policy and meet the needs of parents for childcare services, according to the Health Commission of Jilin province.

Model childcare institutions will be set up in cities and the Korean autonomous prefecture of Yanbian by the end of 2020, and then gradually extended to the whole province.

Jilin has carried out the two-child policy since 2016, however, many parents have only one child due to the high cost of childcare. The province will strive to establish a childcare support system for infants and young children, with governments, communities and families involved, said Yang Chunguang, deputy director of the provincial health commission.

The government will encourage social capital to invest in building nurseries, set up full-time nurseries and temporary childcare centers in communities and explore a system to cover medical costs from pregnancy to delivery.

The province will also give priority to the use of land for childcare institutions and tighten the regulations punishing child abuse.