Beijing to add kindergartens this year

BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Beijing announced Thursday it will build new kindergartens or expand existing ones to increase enrollment by 30,000 pre-schoolers this year.

A total of 158 kindergartens will be built, converted or expanded this year to ease the kindergarten shortage in the city, vice mayor Wang Ning said at a meeting of the standing committee of the Beijing municipal people's congress.

The municipal government will also consider measures to encourage government organs, army units, companies and institutions to set up their own kindergartens.

Financial support will be strengthened. Private kindergartens will be equally subsidized as public ones, if they accept government restrictions on tuition fees, according to Wang.

Wang also said kindergartens should have camera surveillance to cover all their public facilities and should designate security supervisors. Enditem