China to expand preschool education coverage

The central government Tuesday said it aimed to give 85 percent of preschool-aged children access to three years of kindergarten education by 2020, up 10 percent from the current ratio.

Access to high-quality preschool education should be available for 80 percent of the population by 2020, according to the Third Action Plan on Preschool Education jointly released by the ministries of education, finance and human resources as well as the National Development and Reform Commission.

China's kindergarten enrollment rate was about 50.9 percent in 2010, before the introduction of previous three-year plans.

The government should allocate more public funds to improve kindergarten services and carry out preferential policies to attract private capital into the sector, said the plan.

The education ministry also issued a guideline on supervising kindergarten operations, which covers subjects including safety, disease prevention and food safety.