Children at the Third Experimental Kindergarten in Huaibei, East China's Anhui Province make printed eggs dyed with plants along with their teachers on March 26, 2025 to welcome the upcoming Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, which falls on April 4. The Chinese folk belief is that eating an egg on Qingming Festival will bring good health all year round. Photo: VCG

China will waive the care and education fees for children in public kindergartens in the year prior to entering primary schools starting from the autumn semester of 2025, according to guidelines issued by the State Council on Tuesday. The guidelines emphasized effectively reducing education costs, improving the level of basic public education services and providing education that satisfies the people.

According to the guidelines, preschool education is an integral part of the national education system and an important part of social public welfare that concerns the healthy growth of millions of children. The guidelines aim to promote phased implementation of free preschool education and advance the inclusive, safe and high-quality development of preschool education.

For eligible children attending private kindergartens approved by education authorities, childcare and education fees will be reduced or exempted in accordance with the standards set for local public kindergartens. China's Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education will comprehensively consider factors such as changes in the school-age population and financial capacity, and will study the timely improvement of the free preschool education policies, the guidelines say.

The tuition fees exempted for public kindergarten children, excluding meal fees, accommodation fees and other miscellaneous fees, shall be implemented according to the standards approved by the local government at or above the county level and relevant authorities. For private kindergartens, any portion of the tuition fees that exceeds the exemption rate may continue to be charged to the families of children enrolled in the kindergarten in accordance with regulations, according to the guidelines.

Chinese people generally place a high value on preschool education. The national-level support in providing an increasingly better social environment and resources for children's healthy development can "foster a more optimistic outlook" among citizens and encourage childbirth as well, Li Jianmin, a professor at the Institute of Population and Development at Nankai University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"The introduction of childcare subsidies is a significant milestone, indicating that the country is taking on primary responsibility. The gradual implementation of free preschool education is a further step, enriching this policy," Li said.

Increasing government investment and gradual implementation for free preschool education at national-level reflect the concept of investing in people. The exemption of one-year preschool education fees is a signal that more improvements may gradually be made in the future, Jiang Quanbao, an expert in population studies and a professor at the School of Labor Economics, Capital University of Economics and Business, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"It is a direct reflection of reducing parenting costs and part of alleviating the economic pressure on families," said Jiang, noting that this benefits the creation of a "family-friendly society." 

China launched a nationwide childcare subsidy program in 2025 as part of broader efforts to support families and encourage childbirth. 

To balance the income reduction of kindergartens caused by the policy, financial departments shall consider providing subsidies to kindergartens, taking into account factors such as the number of children benefiting from the policy, according to the guidelines.