Jiao Yang, spokesperson of the Shanghai Municipal Government, answered reporters' questions on Shanghai's pre-school education system on October 18 in an written form.

Q: What is the main focus of Shanghai's pre-school education system?

A: Currently, the focus of Shanghai's pre-school education system falls on its urban and rural areas.

On one hand, the city is stepping up kindergarten facility construction in housing projects for people who were relocated because of the 2010 World Expo, and another 60 city-level commercial relocation housing quarters in Baoshan, Jiading, Nanhui, Minhang, Pudong, Qingpu and Songjiang districts.

On the other hand, another major issue that the city is focusing on is the teaching supply in suburban areas isn’t sufficient enough to meet the demand. To help solve this, the city government will encourage district and county governments to consign universities to train pre-school teachers every year so there will be a stable supply of new gradates for its suburban areas. Meanwhile, the local governments will take active measures to encourage university students to teach in suburban and rural areas after graduation, boost exchanges between urban and suburban areas, facilitate mutual aid between kindergartens and organize academic seminars to continuously improve the professional quality of schoolmasters, nursing staff and teachers in these areas.

District and county governments will also provide favorable policies like subsidies to university graduates who are willing to teach at kindergartens in rural and remote areas. Those who sign a five-year contract will receive further benefits. By offering extra benefits to these teachers and nursing staff, the supply will become more secure and stable.

Suburban districts should then make use of the national strategy to develop socialist new countryside and combine pre-school education into their drafts and plans for the city's residential planning, particularly for its 1966 suburban towns. Kindergarten planning should be grouped into the overall local social development plan.

Q: As the "Pre-school Education Three-year Act Plan" states, all kinds of organizations in society are encouraged to run kindergartens in the city. My question is: do privately run kindergartens enjoy the same status as public ones in aspects such as registration approval and personnel training?

A: Shanghai will encourage its qualified public organizations, foundations and corporations to run kindergartens.  By introducing professional grade teaching resources, competition and higher standards will follow. In the meantime, the "Private School Advancement Law" and the “Detailed Implementation Regulations of the Private School Advancement Law" will be adopted to gradually regulate the management of private kindergartens. 

Private kindergartens enjoy the same status as public ones in registration approvals, grading, personnel training, teachers’ rankings, evaluations and awards.  Educational administrative departments will reinforce guidance on the supervision of nursing and teaching at private kindergartens so that the overall quality continuously improves and the operation of these schools remains intact.  Correspondently, this pre-school system will be formed with government-guidance, social participation and supplementary development of public and private kindergartens.  Pre-schools will be accessible to children of families with different demands and financial levels.

Q: Now that parents care much more about pre-schooling their children (0-3 years of age), what is the city's plan to cover this movement?

A: Shanghai will allocate all kinds of resources to establish and improve a pre-school guidance system for children between 0-3 years of age.  It will actively explore the guidance and service functions of its pre-schools and provide various forms of pre-schooling services. The pre-school education service will cater to different demands of children aged 0-3 and their parents.   It will be established based on communities and centered on kindergartens, and extend to families.  The target is to build an effective public platform for the pre-school education system.

Training programs will be established and improved for nursing staff, so that a professional pre-school staff can be effectively formed. 

Educational and public health departments should take full advantages of their scientific methodologies and professional skills at pre-schools. They should explore the features and rules of physical and psychological development of children aged 0-3 and search for teaching environments and methods that benefit their development. They should also provide guidance on scientific pre-schooling methods to the nursing staff, teachers and the parents of children (aged 0-3) living in different districts or counties. The aim is to greatly improve the quality and effectiveness of pre-school education.