Shanghai kindergartens to be inspected following recent scandals

The Shanghai Education Commission launched a citywide inspection on kindergartens under the requirement of the city's Party committee and government to enhance management of the facilities.

The inspection comes as the Office of National Education Inspection released a notice last Friday, ordering inspection of kindergartens around the country following an alleged case of child abuse at RYB Kindergarten in Beijing last week.

This round of inspections will mainly focus on kindergartens' qualifications, their teachers and childminders, plus security conditions including food safety, sanitation and health care, as well as fire control, the Shanghai Education Commission said.

It also aims at pushing local districts to build up or improve regulations, including allowing the opening of new kindergartens, regular supervision, inspection mechanisms to spot illegal facilities, and mechanisms to monitor overall kindergarten quality.

The Shanghai Office of Education Inspection ordered all districts to carry out these inspections immediately.

The city authority will also carry out unannounced inspections on new kindergartens and private kindergartens mainly serving migrant children, and they will focus on the results of district inspections and how problems have been rectified.

The Shanghai Office of Education Inspection will also work out a mechanism to monitor kindergarten inspections and push local districts to build up kindergarten assessment systems based on the results in order to improve the quality of kindergartens.