The General Office of the State Council recently issued the "Opinions on Gradually Promoting Free Preschool Education". On August 7th, Guo Tingting, Deputy Minister of Finance, stated at the State Council's regular policy briefing that the national policy of exempting childcare and education fees covers all large class children in kindergartens, and it is expected to benefit about 12 million people in this autumn semester. At the same time, we encourage all provinces to consolidate and implement support policies for economically disadvantaged children and other groups based on their actual situation, and provide adequate support. The Opinion specifies that starting from the autumn semester of 2025, public kindergartens will be exempt from paying for the care and education of children in the first year of preschool; For children in private kindergartens approved by the education department for the first year of preschool, the corresponding reduction and exemption of childcare and education fees shall be based on the exemption level of local public kindergartens of the same type. The gradual implementation of free preschool education is an important strategic measure for the Party Central Committee and the State Council to address the needs and expectations of the people, further guarantee and improve people's livelihoods, and promote long-term balanced population development. It is a concrete practice of implementing people-oriented and investing in people, and a key link in reducing the policy system of childbirth, nurturing, and education costs. It is of great significance for improving the level of basic public education services, promoting educational equity, and building a fertility friendly society. ”Guo Tingting emphasized. The gradual implementation of free preschool education is achieved through the "addition" of government investment to achieve the "subtraction" of family education expenditure. According to calculations, this autumn semester alone, the national finance will increase expenditure by about 20 billion yuan, and correspondingly reduce household expenditure by 20 billion yuan. In terms of funding burden, the subsidy funds for free childcare and education are jointly shared by the central and local governments, with the central government taking the majority and providing policy support to the central and western regions. Various regions will coordinate and allocate central subsidy funds and their own financial resources to ensure timely and sufficient disbursement of funds, ensuring the smooth implementation of this policy that benefits the people. The Opinion clarifies that for the portion of kindergarten income reduced due to exemption from childcare and education fees, the government will provide subsidies to the kindergarten, and the necessary funds will be jointly borne by the central and local governments. Among them, the central government distributes 80%, 60%, and 50% of the funds to the western, central, and eastern regions respectively. Next, the Ministry of Finance will work with the Ministry of Education to guide provincial finance and education departments to coordinate and arrange central subsidy funds and local funding, and timely and fully allocate financial subsidy funds to kindergartens. ”Xu Liuqing, Director of the Department of Science, Education and Culture of the Ministry of Finance, said. In order to fully reflect the inclusiveness and fairness of the policy, this free childcare and education fee policy covers all eligible children in kindergarten classes, including public kindergartens, private kindergartens, urban kindergartens, and rural kindergartens, so that all children in kindergarten classes can enjoy this policy dividend. The Opinion specifies that the charging standards for public kindergarten conservation and education fees formulated by relevant local departments shall be implemented. That is to say, the public kindergarten's childcare and education fees were originally charged, but now they are fully waived. For eligible children studying in private kindergartens approved by the education department, the corresponding reduction and exemption of childcare and education fees shall be based on the exemption level of public kindergartens of the same type in the location of the private kindergarten. ”Guo Tingting gave an example that if the childcare and education fee standard of a private kindergarten is 800 yuan per person per month, and the fee standard of a public kindergarten of the same type in the same location is 500 yuan, after the implementation of this policy, children in large classes studying in public kindergartens no longer need to pay, and all 500 yuan will be waived; Large class children studying in private kindergartens are also exempted according to the standard of 500 yuan, as long as they pay the difference, which is 300 yuan. How to ensure the implementation of policies when the autumn semester is less than a month away? Xu Liuqing stated that the Ministry of Finance has fully arranged for the central government to bear the subsidy funds for free childcare and education expenses, which will be issued in the near future. Liu Yuguang, Director of the Finance Department of the Ministry of Education, stated that he will urge various regions to formulate specific implementation plans and deploy them as soon as possible, and reverse the schedule to promote policy implementation. Strengthen policy promotion and interpretation through multiple channels, guide local authorities to conduct business training for kindergarten principals and support staff, and enhance policy implementation capabilities and management service levels. Recently, the government has continuously introduced a series of policies, including childcare subsidies and exemption from childcare and education fees, to continuously reduce the costs of childbirth, nurturing, and education for families. This series of policy measures are interconnected, progressive, and constantly improved, vividly reflecting the continuous and precise implementation of policies by the country according to the changing situation of population development, "said Guo Tingting. (New Society)