Chinese authorities further regulate childcare institutions

BEIJING -- A new regulation will help strengthen supervision over China's childcare institutions and facilitate the high-quality development of childcare service sector, Health News reported Tuesday.

The regulation, jointly issued by the National Health Commission, the State Commission Office of Public Sectors Reform, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the State Administration for Market Regulation, has specified measures to improve policies concerning registration and information disclosure of childcare institutions.

New public childcare institutions must be approved by and register with staffing management authorities for public sectors, and new social-service and for-profit childcare institutions must file their registration with civil affairs authorities and market watchdogs, respectively, according to the regulation, which targets childcare institutions for children under the age of three.

New childcare institutions must report specific types of services they will offer when filing for registration, and relevant licenses and hygiene reports are also required, according to the regulation.

In accordance with the regulation, provincial-level organs under the four authorities can formulate specific rules for implementation based on local conditions.