Chongqing Implements Free Preschool Education Policy

The city of Chongqing has announced that it will implement the "Opinions on Gradually Implementing Free Preschool Education" policy, which aims to waive childcare and education fees for children in public kindergartens starting from the 2025 fall semester. This decision is in line with the previous Government Work Report, which proposed the gradual implementation of free preschool education. The policy is expected to promote educational equity, reduce preschool education expenses for affected families, and ease the cost of raising children.

Key Takeaways:

• The State Council's "Opinions on Gradually Implementing Free Preschool Education" policy aims to waive childcare and education fees for children in public kindergartens starting from the 2025 fall semester.
• Private kindergartens can also enjoy the same level of exemptions, with children of school age attending private kindergartens approved by the education department receiving corresponding childcare and education fee reductions.
• The financial department will subsidize kindergartens for the part of kindergarten income that is reduced due to exemption of childcare and education fees.
• Local finance and education departments at all levels are required to strengthen daily monitoring, fund guarantee, and use management, and allocate funds in a timely and full manner.

Hong Xiumin, director of the Institute of Preschool Education at Beijing Normal University, emphasized the importance of steadily promoting work related to free preschool education, while advancing in an orderly step-by-step manner based on changes in the school-age population, economic and social development, and other conditions.

Statistics:

• The policy aims to implement free preschool education starting from the 2025 fall semester.
• Local finance and education departments at all levels will subsidize kindergartens for the part of kindergarten income that is reduced due to exemption of childcare and education fees.
• The exemption levels of childcare and education fees will be implemented in accordance with standards approved by local people's governments at or above the county level and their education and price regulatory departments.

Sources:

• "Opinions on Gradually Implementing Free Preschool Education" (State Council of China)
• Government Work Report (Chinese Government)
• " Preschool education involves thousands of households and is related to long-term development" (Gao Bingcheng, associate researcher at the Institute of Basic Education at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences)
• http://cqspb.gov.cn/bm/qjgswj_63979/sy_63980/bmdt_63982/202508/t20250808_14887091.html