THE city s education authority will conduct a citywide inspection of kindergartens to check whether recently implemented standards are being followed.
The students-to-staff ratio at kindergartens should be no more than 7 to 1, according to the new kindergarten standards.
The standards also regulate the maximum number of students in a class: 35 for senior classes, 30 for intermediate classes and 25 for junior classes, Chinese-language newspapers reported Thursday.
Those that fail to meet the standards will have their license revoked and be closed down.
Kindergartens have been asked to offer classes in language, science and art, but they will not be allowed to teach students what they are supposed to learn at primary school.
Children should be given two hours of outdoor activities per day.
According to the standards, children should spend no more than 30 minutes per day watching TV or using computers.
Owing to a citywide lack of kindergartens, a number of unlicensed kindergartens have emerged in recent years.
My child has to go to a private kindergarten located in a residential estate without an outdoor playground. There are more than 40 children in a class, one migrant worker said.
Under the new regulations, kindergartens should be located away from sources of pollution.
One rule on food safety stipulates that kindergartens should keep food samples from each meal for 48 hours.
The rules say children should be provided with a balanced diet and an assessment of meals given to children should be conducted at least once every semester.
(Tina Chen)
