Kerry Hughes | 06.04.13
Kindergarten is all fun and games, right? Learning how to read, how to socialize, maybe with a built-in nap time? This may be a familiar picture, but in rural China, the picture of Kindergarten is changing rapidly due to the new emerging competitive market for profit private kindergartens.
This cut-throat environment framed the poisoning of two children in Lianghe. Cousins Ren Xinyi and Ren Zhaoning found a plastic bag on the way to school that contained a yogurt drink laced with rat poison. The two shared the drink, but Zhaoning consumed more and passed away due to the effects of the poison.
After investigation, a shocking and disheartening conclusion was found: one of the two perpetrators was the principal of a rival kindergarten (Pingan school), whose intention was to damage the reputation of her rival school, according to the official New China News Agency. The poisoned children attended Lianghe Central, and currently Pingan and Central have been shut down.
It was unusual that the town of Lianghe had two kindergartens for its size with a population of 2,000. Clear rivals, both schools charged about the same tuition- $16.25 a month- which is not much compared to the rates of urban private kindergartens at $500 a month per pupil. However, rural kindergartens can make hefty profits with higher enrollment. Pingan, with an enrollment of 56, lagged behind Lianghe Central’s enrollment of 217. In a world where profit depends on enrollment and reputation, there is much competition; especially because the Chinese government has started taking more interest in preschool education.
Furthermore, the increased in standard of living has had a direct impact on awareness of kindergartens and early education. This, in turn, has increased the level of competition between kindergartens…. continue reading
No comments:
Post a Comment