Education

'They don't have enough resources'

By Zhong Nan (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-22 07:57

For the past two months, Ma Rui has been preoccupied with finding a kindergarten - any kindergarten - for her son, who will soon turn 3.

On a weekday afternoon, Ma was rushing off for a 2 pm appointment at a public kindergarten in Beijing. That night, she would be back at her desk - at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's headquarters in Beijing - to finish her work.

Ma, a 31-year-old accountant, is one of thousands of parents in Beijing desperately anxious to land a kindergarten for her child.

"I've tried three public kindergartens nearby, but their responses have not been encouraging as they can take in only a limited number of children," Ma said.

"They just don't have sufficient resources and teachers to support the demand."

The demand for places at public kindergarten is growing, thanks largely to the lower fees they charge, ranging from 500 yuan ($76) to 1,700 yuan a month.

Fees at privately owned and international kindergartens usually start from about 4,500 yuan a month.

Ma said that she cannot afford the fees demanded by privately owned kindergartens.

In Beijing, the relation between supply and demand of public kindergartens is extremely unbalanced. It is related to the baby boom between 2006 and 2008, and limited kindergarten numbers, Beijing Daily reported.