Children play games at Beijing Primary School in Beijing, capital of China, July 19, 2021. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)
A RELIEF FOR PARENTS, STUDENTS
Wang Min and her husband are both bank staff in the city of Tai'an, east China's Shandong Province, raising a daughter who is in fourth grade and a son in kindergarten.
"School's summer-holiday childcare service is a great relief for us," Wang said.
"In summer holidays before, off-campus tutorial class is the only choice for my daughter with a tuition of nearly 3,000 yuan (about 463 U.S. dollars) a month, and we had to seek help from my parents in their 60s to pick up my daughter and also her little brother in kindergarten," Wang added.
"At school, there are familiar teachers and classmates, and my daughter is more self-disciplined with less use of the electronic devices. So far, 11 of those 48 pupils in my daughter's class have registered for childcare," Wang said.
"We only need to pay 480 yuan for the four-week service, which is affordable," Wang said.
Thanks to the government subsidies, these schools charge lower for the services than those commercial training institutions. For instance, in Beijing, the fee of the daycare service during summer vacation is about 30 yuan per day per student. The schools also provide lunches with an extra charge of around 20 yuan.
