(Adopted at the 122nd meeting of the Standing Committee of the 4th Shenzhen Municipal People's Government on Nov.29,2008)
Chapter One General Provisions
Article 1 In order to further standardize management, to improve the quality of child care and education, and to promote the healthy development of preschool education, the Interim Measures of Shenzhen Municipality on the Administration of Preschool Education (“the Measures”) are formulated in accordance with the laws, administrative regulations and rules such as Education Law of the People's Republic of China, Private Education Promotion Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Teachers Law of the People's Republic of China and in light of actual circumstances of Shenzhen Municipality.
Article 2 The Measures shall apply to all those engaged in preschool education and their administrative activities in Shenzhen Municipality.
Article 3 The administrative departments of education shall be the competent authority of preschool education. Departments such as development and reform, public security, civil affairs, finance, audit, human resource (institutional organization), labor and social security, land and real estate, construction, planning, health, taxation, industry and commerce (price control), urban management shall manage preschool education in accordance with the law within the scope of their respective duties.
Article 4 The municipal and district governments shall establish a system of joint meetings on preschool education. The joint meeting is composed of departments of education, development and reform, public security, civil affairs, finance, audit, human resource (staff organization), labor and social security, land and real estate, construction, planning, health, taxation, industry and commerce (price control), urban management and other departments. The joint meetings shall be convened by the leaders of municipal and district governments who are in charge of education. Such meetings shall regularly disclose the actual circumstances and shall coordinate to solve the problems of preschool education.
Chapter Two Daily Affairs
Article 5 Preschool educational institutions shall follow the vicinity principle of enrollment and enroll students according to the permitted age group. The enrollment brochures and advertisements shall be objective and authentic and shall be filed to the district administrative department of education for record in advance. Preschool educational institutions shall not organize school children to go out for the purpose of enrollment promotion.
Article 6 The enrollment of children in preschool educational institutions shall require health examination at the health care institutions designated by the administrative department of public health, and shall be completed upon the health examination form, the child vaccination certificate and other materials.
Article 7 Preschool educational institutions may adopt boarding, full-day, half-day or hourly operations. Children are not allowed to stay overnight in non-boarding preschool educational institutions.
Article 8 The first day of schooling of preschool educational institutions shall be implemented in accordance with that of compulsory education schools, and the starting time of winter and summer vacation shall be determined by the institutions themselves. During winter and summer vacation, preschool educational institutions may continue to provide care and education services according to the wills of the parents of children, but staffs thereof shall be subject to rotational shift work.
Article 9 Kindergartens shall arrange classes according to the age of children, and nurseries may arrange classes according to the age or may arrange classes on a mixed basis. The relevant provisions of the state and Shenzhen Municipality shall be implemented with regard to the staff members of care and education in preschool educational institutions and the quota of children in classes. Preschool educational institutions shall disclose the quota of children of classes, the actual enrollment number and the allocation of staffs of care and education in front of the classrooms.
Article 10 Preschool educational institutions shall establish a system for the management of the shuttle services and shall be responsible for the shuttle services provided for children. For those preschool educational institutions which provide shuttle services, the relevant provisions in the Interim Measures of Shenzhen Municipality on the Traffic Safety Management of School Buses shall be implemented. In addition, special personnel shall be allocated to such vehicles to take care of children and to ensure the safety of children.
Article 11 Preschool educational institutions shall establish student status files for school children and, within ten working days from the first day of schooling, submit the paper version and electronic version of the information of newly enrolled children to the district administrative department of education in which such an institution locates. In case of any enrollment, transfer or drop out of children, the preschool educational institutions shall, within five working days from the day of enrollment, transfer or drop-out of children, complete the change of relevant information. The municipal administrative department of education shall formulate the template of student status files.
Article 12 Preschool educational institutions shall establish systems such as safety management, health care, financial management, curriculum management, research of teaching, personnel management, file management, work meetings and linkage between home and kindergarten (nursery), and shall improve their organizational institution as well as internal management.
Article 13 Preschool educational institutions may collect care and education fees from school children. The care and education fees of public preschool educational institutions shall be determined by the government. Private preschool educational institutions shall determine the standard of care and education fees in an independent and reasonable manner, according to the cost of schooling and the needs of development. With regard to the private preschool educational institutions which are the supporting institutions in the residential area and the property rights of which belong to the governments, their standard of care and education fees shall be agreed by the administrative department of education and the contractor providing preschool education.
Article 14 Where preschool educational institutions provide dining and shuttle services for school children, they may collect food and shuttle service fees on the principle of compensating reasonable costs.
Article 15 Preschool educational institutions may organize children to participate in the physical examination of the items prescribed by the health department and to purchase school uniforms, and may be entrusted to collect physical examination fees and school uniform fees. The fees for children's physical examination shall be subject to government guidance.
Article 16 With the exception of the care and education fees of public preschool educational institutions, all charge items and standards of preschool educational institutions shall be submitted to the district administrative department of price supervision and education in which the institutions locate for filing, and shall be implemented after publication. Preschool educational institutions shall provide the following materials to the district administrative department of price supervision and education for filing: (1) an application for filing; (2) charge items and standards; (3) materials for the measurement of prices. The administrative department of education shall review the record-keeping materials in accordance with the law. Where any illegal act is discovered, the preschool educational institutions concerned shall be ordered to correct them within a time limit.
Article 17 Preschool educational institutions shall charge fees on a monthly basis, and, for the service that is less than one month, on a daily basis. The fees may also be charged on a semester basis with the consent of the parents of the children. Preschool educational institutions shall issue invoices provided by taxation or financial departments with regard to the fees they collect, and shall separately issue legal receipts provided by medical institutions and suppliers with regard to the children's physical examination fees and school uniform fees that are entrusted to be collected by the preschool educational institutions. In addition to the fees that are entrusted to be collected, all fees collected by preschool educational institutions shall be deposited into the bank account under the name of the institutions on the date of charging, with different fees subject to separate item and independent accounting. Dedicated funds shall be used for dedicated purposes and shall not be embezzled or misappropriated. The care and education fees are mainly used to carry out care and education activities and to improve the conditions of schools. Preschool educational institutions shall, from the next day of the date when children drop out of school or ask for leave, calculate the refund amount of food fees on a daily basis, and shall disclose the accounts of children's food fees to parents on a monthly basis. Food fees shall be carried over on a monthly basis and shall not be deducted or embezzled, with the remaining amount being refunded at the end of the semester. The use of other fees shall be disclosed to parents at the end of each semester, with fees being settled on a semester basis. Any excess payment shall be refunded and any shortfall shall be made up. In addition to the fees for the physical examination of children prescribed by the health department, preschool educational institutions shall not, in accordance with parents' willingness, provide other paid services compulsorily.
Article 18 Preschool educational institutions shall formulate plans for the public emergencies and shall conduct drills on a regular basis. In the event of any emergencies, preschool educational institutions shall immediately take effective measures to deal with them, and, at the same time, shall report them to the relevant departments. Concealment, delay, misstatement or omission of the report shall be prohibited.
Article 19 Staff members of preschool educational institutions shall take physical examinations at health care institutions designated by the health department, and shall not take up their posts until they have obtained health certificates. During their posts, they shall take a physical examination every academic year. Patients with chronic infectious diseases, mental illness and other diseases who are not suitable for preschool education as stipulated by relevant laws and regulations shall not work in preschool educational institutions.
Chapter Three Care and Education
Article 20 Preschool educational institutions shall, follow the principle that activity and learning shall be associated, make arrangements of children's daily life in a reasonable manner and strictly implement them. The mealtime shall be reasonably arranged in accordance with the relevant provisions, of which the interval between the two meals shall not be less than three and a half hours. Physical activities in line with the characteristics of children's physical and mental development shall be carried out, with outdoor activities not less than two hours a day and with physical activities therein not less than one hour.
Article 21 During the normal daily routine, preschool educational institutions shall arrange teachers to take charge of the classes. Interns and caregivers are not allowed to take charge of the classes alone. Preschool educational institutions shall arrange two or more staff members of care and education, including at least one teacher, to guide children to engage in outdoor activities.
Article 22 The curriculum of preschool educational institutions shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state, Guangdong Province and Shenzhen Municipality. The content of the curriculum shall closely relate to children's life experience and shall be fundamental, enlightening and comprehensive.
The curriculum of preschool educational institutions shall target at all children, pay attention to the emotional experience of children, and focus on the cultivation of children's interest in learning and good habits. Organizational forms shall be flexible and diverse, with games being the basic form, in order to promote the mental and physical harmonious development of children. Preschool educational institutions shall provide children with toys, books and materials that can meet the needs of their activities.
Article 23 Preschool educational institutions shall establish children's health files, carry out regular examinations regarding children's health, strictly implement the sanitary disinfection system and the isolation system for children with infectious diseases, and take measures in planned immunization and disease prevention. The municipal health departments shall formulate the template of children's health files and formulate and improve the relevant management system. Preschool educational institutions that provide meals should provide scientific nutritional meals according to the age of children. The relevant provisions of the Food Hygiene Law of the People's Republic of China shall be strictly implemented with regard to the workflow of food purchase, storage and processing. Preschool educational institutions shall cultivate children's healthy living and hygiene practices. Preschool educational institutions shall provide children with convenient conditions for drinking water and shall ensure the supply of drinking water for children. Besides, they shall not limit the frequency and time of children's defecation.
Article 24 Preschool educational institutions shall not replace normal education and teaching activities with interest classes. The paid interest classes shall not be held from Monday to Friday during the school hours. Preschool educational institutions shall not organize children to participate in commercial activities.
Chapter Four Supporting Preschool Education Facilities
Article 25 The construction entities shall build supporting preschool educational facilities together with the construction of newly built residential areas and the reconstruction of residential areas. The design and construction of preschool educational facilities shall be strictly implemented in accordance with the national standards to ensure the quality of the projects.
Article 26 With regard to the residential areas whose property rights belong to the government, after the completion of their supporting preschool educational facilities, the construction entities shall go through the formalities of check and acceptance in accordance with relevant provisions, and shall, within 20 working days after the acceptance check upon completion filing, transfer the property rights to the district department for the management of public property rights. The district department for the management of public property rights shall, within five working days after the transfer of property rights, notify the district administrative department of education in writing of the transfer information of property rights. The district administrative department of education shall be responsible for the tender.
Article 27 The district administrative department of education shall, through public tender, determine the contractor of the supporting preschool educational facilities in the residential area whose property rights belong to the government. The tender measures shall be formulated by the municipal administrative department of education in conjunction with the procurement department of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government. The district administrative department of education shall sign an agreement with the successful tenderer. The contractor agreement shall include the source of funds, start-up funds, scale of the preschool educational institution, structure of the preschool educational institution, development objectives, duration of contractor agreement, charge items, charge standards, measures for the supervision of funds, whether reasonable returns are required, rights and obligations, measures for termination, liability for breach of contractor agreement, conditions for renewal of contractor agreement, etc. The municipal administrative department of education shall formulate the template of the contractor agreement. Where the term of the contractor agreement is more than six years and less than ten years, the contractor agreement may be renewed upon expiration. The contractor shall submit an application for renewal of the contractor agreement to the district administrative department of education or inform the department concerned not to renew the contractor agreement six months before expiration.
Article 28 The contractor shall, in accordance with the award of tender and the contractor agreement, go through the formalities for the use of supporting preschool educational facilities in the department for the management of public property rights.
Chapter Five Management and Supervision
Article 29 The relevant government departments shall regularly carry out special inspections and rectification with regard to the food safety, safety of construction and facilities, traffic safety, fire safety, safety of surrounding areas and internal security works of preschool educational institutions.
Article 30 Research institutions of education and teaching shall organize and carry out research and communication regarding preschool education and teaching, guide preschool educational institutions to follow the rules of preschool education and the characteristics of children's physical and mental development, so as to constantly improve the quality of care and education.
Article 31 The administrative department of education shall, in conjunction with the department of public health, regularly monitor the quality of preschool educational institutions with regard to care and education, disclose feedback of supervision timely, put forward suggestions, and provide professional guidance for care and education.
Article 32 The administrative department of education shall, in conjunction with the competent department of price control, conduct research on the formulation of the cost structure of private preschool educational institutions, determine the reasonable proportion for the balance of such preschool educational institutions, and guide the private preschool educational institutions to formulate a reasonable standard for care and education fees. The competent price control department shall regularly inspect the collection of fees and charges of preschool educational institutions and investigate illegal acts of price violation.
Article 33 The competent department of price control shall supervise whether the accountants of preschool educational institutions have professional qualifications, and whether the accounting books, financial accounting, financial and accounting reports and other accounting materials are authentic and complete. It shall also correct illegal accounting practices.
Article 34 The administrative department of education shall supervise the usage of assets and financial management of private preschool educational institutions in accordance with the law, formulate regulatory measures for funds of private preschool educational institutions, and organize special financial audits and financial inspections on a regular basis. Private preschool educational institutions shall be subject to supervision in accordance with the law, and shall sign supervision agreements with banks, submit materials such as the charging standard, the list of school children and the plan for the use of funds in a semester to the aforesaid banks, and shall apply for the use of funds on a monthly basis. The supervising banks shall allocate funds into the supervision account of preschool educational institutions on a regular basis in accordance with the supervision agreements, the plan for the use of fund and the application for the use of fund. The supervision agreement shall be submitted to the district administrative department of education for filing. Private preschool educational institutions shall submit financial and accounting reports to the district administrative department of education within five working days after the end of each month.
Article 35 A registration system for the employment of staff members of preschool educational institutions shall be implemented. Preschool educational institutions shall, within ten working days after the beginning of the new semester, submit the paper version and electronic version of educational qualifications, professional qualifications, technical titles, continuing education, salary status and employment experience of the staff members to the district administrative department of education. In case of any changes of the employment situation of staff members, the preschool educational institution shall complete the change of information within five working days from the day when any changes of the employment situation occur and report it to the administrative department of education. The district administrative department of education shall regularly submit the employment-related information stipulated in Paragraph 1 and 2 of this Article to the district department of labor and social security for registration, so as to realize the sharing of information.
Article 36 The administrative department of education shall establish an information platform for the management of preschool education and disclose information such as policies and regulations of preschool education, the vacancies of preschool educational institutions, financial supervision, the quality of care and education and the results of education supervision, as well as other related information such as articles of association, basic information of institutions, fees, financial audit results, government funds and incentives received of preschool educational institutions. Other functional departments shall disclose relevant supervision information of preschool education within the scope of their duties and shall share information on the information platform for the management of education.
Chapter Six Support and Reward
Article 37 The municipal and district governments shall set up special funds for preschool education. The special funds are mainly used for funds, rewards, subsidies and other purposes prescribed by municipal and district governments. Administrative measures for the use of funds shall be formulated by the municipal administrative department of education in conjunction with the municipal financial department.
Article 38 The following items may be appropriately funded by the special funds for preschool education: (1) the professional training for qualified care and education personnel in preschool educational institutions based on the class hours and number of personnel; (2) research projects on preschool education reviewed and initiated by the administrative departments of education and scientific research; (3) the care and education fees of the children of household registered in Shenzhen Municipality and covered by subsistence allowance system; (4) the enrollment of disabled children of household registered in Shenzhen Municipality by preschool educational institutions; (5) training for parents of preschool children in the community; (6) experiments regarding the reform of preschool education organized by the government.
Article 39 The following institutions and personnel shall be rewarded by special funds: (1) preschool educational institutions that have passed grade evaluation, acceptance of standardized construction and model of educational institutions; (2) standard preschool educational institutions that do not require reasonable returns; (3) the ones that have obtained the title of outstanding preschool educational institution, outstanding teacher or advanced worker at or above the district level; (4) teachers in preschool educational institutions with over 30-year teaching experience; (5) other institutions and personnel that the government decides to reward.
Article 40 The student accident insurance bought for children in kindergarten will be subsidized by special funds. Article 41 With regard to the corporate income tax paid by preschool educational institutions according to law, the portion to which local government is entitled will be returned by special funds on an annual basis.
Article 42 The gas, water, electricity and property management fees paid by preschool educational institutions will be calculated in accordance with the payment standards for primary and secondary schools.
Chapter Seven Penalties
Article 43 If the construction entities, after the completion of the supporting preschool educational facilities in the residential area whose property rights belong to the government, fail to complete the transfer of property rights within the prescribed time, the land and real estate department shall order the transfer within a time limit; in case of any unauthorized usage or lease, the illegal income (if any) shall be confiscated by the land and real estate department. Article 44 If a preschool educational institution is under any of the following circumstances, the district administrative department of education shall order it to make corrections and impose a warning: (1) where the preschool educational institution fails to establish children's student status files in accordance with relevant provisions; (2) where the preschool educational institution fails to make employment registration for staff members in accordance with relevant provisions; (3) where the arrangement of daily routine is not in conformity with the provisions of Article 20 of the Measures; (4) where the preschool institution fails to disclose relevant information of schooling in accordance with relevant provisions.
Article 45 If a preschool educational institution is under any of the following circumstances, it shall be ordered by the district administrative department of education to make corrections and be given a warning; if the circumstances are serious, it shall be ordered to stop recruiting students or revoke its license for schooling according to the law; if it is suspected of the crime, it shall be transferred to the judicial authorities for investigation of criminal responsibility according to the law: (1) where the preschool educational institution fails to employ staff members in accordance with provisions of the state, or fails to provide care and education personnel in accordance with relevant provisions; (2) where the preschool educational institution fails to carry out health examination for staff members in accordance with relevant provisions; (3) where the preschool educational institution fails to arrange teachers to organize activities for children in accordance with relevant provisions; (4) where the preschool educational institution fails to set up accounting books in accordance with relevant provisions, or fails to conduct independent accounting, or the accounting data are not authentic or complete; (5) where the preschool educational institution fails to deposit all fees collected into the bank account under the name of it in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 17 of the Measures, or encroaches or misappropriates the fees.
Article 46 If a preschool educational institution or other specialized institution fails to use the special funds in accordance with the prescribed purposes, it shall be ordered to return the special funds allocated, and no further application shall be made within two years. If a preschool educational institution violates laws, administrative regulations or relevant provisions of the Measures, it shall be disqualified from receiving support and awards in the same year.
Article 47 If a preschool educational institution holds paid interest classes from Monday to Friday during school hours, or organizes children to participate in commercial activities, it shall be imposed with a fine of 10,000 yuan by the district administrative department of education; in case of any illegal gains, they shall be confiscated.
Chapter Eight Supplementary Provisions
Article 48 The term "preschool educational institutions" as mentioned in the Measures refers to nurseries and kindergartens, in which the enrollment targets of nurseries are children under the age of three, and the enrollment targets of kindergartens are mainly the children between the ages of three and six. The term "preschool educational facilities" as mentioned in the Measures refers to the premises, venues and activity facilities of preschool educational institutions.
Article 49 Where it is necessary to formulate implementation measures for the Measures, the relevant departments shall formulate and promulgate them within six months after the implementation of the Measures.
Article 50 The Measures shall enter into effect as of February 1, 2009.