China closes more than 10,000 kindergartens, low birth rate worries country

By: 600011 On: Oct 28, 2024, 1:48 PM

 

 

China is a country that once had a one-child policy. But now, the declining birth rate is causing headaches for the country. With that, benefits are being promised in various areas for having two or three children.

Now, news is coming out that thousands of kindergartens across the country have had to close. Kindergartens across the country had to be closed due to lack of children for new admissions. All this is attributed to the significant decrease in the birth rate in the country.

According to an annual report by the Chinese Ministry of Education, there were 274,400 kindergartens across China in 2023. In 2022, it was 289,200. More than 14000 kindergartens were closed in one year. This is the second year in a row that China's birth rate has declined.

The number of children enrolled in kindergartens has also decreased. In 2023, there were 40.9 million children enrolled in preschool education. According to government figures, this shows a decline of more than 11 percent compared to the previous year. In 2022, the number of kindergartens decreased by 1.9%, while the number of children enrolled in kindergartens decreased by 3.7%. Many kindergartens have evolved into care centers for the elderly.

Declining birth rate and increasing number of elderly people in the country has created a big headache for the authorities. Later, many schemes were formed to increase the birth rate and to make couples decide to have children.