China is facing a population crisis with the birth rate continuing to decline, prompting consecutive measures from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to encourage childbirth. The official announcement made yesterday (5th) stated that the government will gradually exempt fees for preschool education and childcare. This year, fees for the public kindergarten’s one-year preschool class (senior class) will be waived, and private kindergartens will also follow suit. However, netizens have expressed doubts, questioning the effectiveness of these measures. Prior to this, the authorities had already released a childcare subsidy plan. Some analysts believe that these measures indicate a sense of urgency from the elite class at the top of society, while the real issues faced by the grassroots are not being effectively addressed.
According to reports from CCP’s official media on the 5th, the State Council Office issued the “Opinions on Gradually Implementing Free Preschool Education,” aiming to gradually exempt fees for preschool education and childcare and effectively reduce education costs.
The document states that starting from the autumn semester of 2025, fees for childcare and education of children in public kindergartens for the one-year preschool class will be exempted. The exemption standards for childcare and education fees will be based on the charging standards approved by local governments at the county level or above, and their education and price regulation authorities (excluding meal fees, accommodation fees, miscellaneous fees, etc.).
For children attending privately-run kindergartens approved by the authorities, the document mentions that relevant reductions in childcare and education fees will be based on the exemption levels of similar public kindergartens in the area. Any excess fees charged by private kindergartens above the exemption level will still be collected from the families of the children attending.
The document also mentions that for the parts of the kindergarten’s income that are reduced due to the exemption of childcare and education fees, financial departments will consider comprehensive factors such as the number of children benefiting from the fee exemption, the actual charging levels of childcare and education fees in the area, and provide subsidies to the kindergartens.
There is a significant difference in kindergarten fees across regions in mainland China. The childcare and education fees of public kindergartens are generally government-priced, and are usually lower than the fees charged by private kindergartens in the same area.
For example, in April 2024, the Guangzhou Municipal Government announced that the standard preschool education fees for public full-time demonstration kindergartens were 823 yuan per month, while for public full-time standard kindergartens, it was 995 yuan per month. The standard boarding kindergarten fees were 30% higher than the full-time fees.
On July 10, 2024, in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, the fee standards for public kindergartens were set as follows: provincial demonstration kindergartens at 630 yuan per month, city level one kindergartens at 570 yuan per month, city level two kindergartens at 455 yuan per month, city level three kindergartens and those not yet registered at 255 yuan per month.
An interpretation article from the “New Beijing News” later mentioned that children in Tibet and the four surrounding provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang will continue to maintain the current policy. Financial subsidies for exempting childcare and education fees will be shared between the central and local governments of each province.
In response to this, comments on mainland China’s related news websites, aside from some positive ‘fifty-cent’ comments, show that many netizens have expressed skepticism, and are not optimistic about this policy.
“There’s an exemption here, but new fees will be introduced.”
“Private kindergartens are going to be in trouble.”
“It’s too late now.”
Some sarcastically criticize the so-called “gradual exemption”: “Two years later, two years later, then another three years.”
“Is it helpful to make it free? Primary education is free, but did parents have less to pay?”
“Why isn’t it fully free for all in three years?”
“What if you can’t get into a public kindergarten?”
“Nowadays, many civil servants are delaying salary payments, and there is nothing kindergartens can do about the delayed fees. In the past, charging a little more money could pay employees’ salaries, guarantee the quality of education and care, but now with reduced fees, the overall quality is decreasing. The policy says not to delay kindergarten teachers’ salaries, but when implemented, there are all sorts of excuses~”
“There are not many public kindergartens, mostly private.”
“Then they’ll deceive people into having children.”
“Your original intention is economic considerations, not for the people.”
“The key is to solve the employment issues of young parents and children, with everyone having a job, other problems will be resolved.”
“Free tuition is minor, the main issue is forcing them into interest classes, making kids dull. This kind of education harms the nation and its people.”
After implementing the harsh “family planning, one-child policy” for decades, China is now facing severe population challenges in recent years.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of the Chinese Communist Party in January this year showed that in 2024, China’s birth rate was 6.77‰, but the natural population growth rate was -0.99‰, resulting in a continuous decline in the total population for three consecutive years.
An editorial from the British newspaper “The Guardian” pointed out that China is not the only country facing the issue of an aging population and a lack of young labor force. However, unlike Western countries, in China, people grow old before they become prosperous. The scale and speed of this challenge is unprecedented, largely due to the decades of limiting childbirth under the “one-child policy.” This also means that there are fewer retirees who can rely on their children to support them.
In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party authorities have launched campaigns to “encourage childbirth,” with various regions carrying out activities to promote childbirth, including childcare subsidies and maternity leave, but the public’s response has been negative.
Mr. Wang, a resident of Pudong, Shanghai, had previously told Dajiyuan that the biggest problem facing the Chinese now is the lack of successors, with young people unwilling to have children. “Neither of my two sons wants to have children. When I ask them what they will do when they are older, they just say they will figure it out then.”
On July 28, the CCP officially released the “National Parenting Allowance System Implementation Plan.” From January 1, 2025, regardless of having one child, two children, or three children, each child can receive an annual subsidy of 3,600 yuan until they reach the age of three.
Blogger “Kanjian” analyzed that the core logic behind this parenting subsidy is the higher-ups hoping to stimulate consumption and boost the economy by encouraging ordinary people to have children. The deeper purpose is that children are the “weak spot” of families and also the best “social stability tool.”
He straightforwardly stated that a subsidy of 3,600 yuan per year is just a drop in the bucket for stimulating childbirth.
He compared the structure of Chinese society to a “pyramid,” with the top being the minority elite and the base comprising the vast majority of ordinary people. Over the past forty years, the elite at the top have accumulated significant resources, while the income for the base has been limited, resulting in huge wealth disparities. However, “the stability of the pyramid relies on the base.”
Regarding the CCP State Council’s announcement of gradually providing free preschool education and other measures, the blogger believes that this shows the “top” is indeed anxious, giving ordinary people at the “base” a chance to benefit more amid increasingly severe employment and life pressures. However, the ultimate outcome of this game is still filled with uncertainties.
28-year-old single worker Xiao Qin previously told Radio Free Asia that so-called marriage and childbirth subsidies in various regions are just small gestures and cannot solve the problem for young people who struggle to afford the cost of living and start families.
Being in China feels like living in a big prison, with him and his friends feeling unhappy, there is no reason to have children, not wanting the next generation to suffer like they do.