New regulations from China's Ministry of Education, as detailed in a recent press conference, mandate that kindergarten teachers and staff must be registered with educational authorities and undergo rigorous background checks and health assessments. The preschool education law （effective as of June 1, 2025）, which aims to enhance the quality of the teaching workforce, explicitly prohibits the hiring of individuals with criminal histories that could endanger children, such as those involving abuse, sexual assault, drug abuse, gambling, and other criminal activities, as well as those with a record of alcoholism or significant ethical transgressions.
The law emphasizes the need for robust staffing and the establishment of clear standards for the allocation of teachers and staff, with kindergartens and their operators required to adhere to these standards during recruitment processes. It is now mandatory for the hiring of kindergarten educators and personnel to be reported to the educational administration department, along with the results of background checks and health exams. The law bars the employment of individuals deemed a risk to children's well-being or deemed unfit for early childhood education.
The legislation clearly states that two groups are ineligible for employment in preschool education: those with criminal records related to abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, trafficking, drug use, gambling, and other offenses; and those with a history of alcohol abuse or serious breaches of professional ethics, or behaviors that could compromise children's safety.
In addition to these hiring standards, the law underscores the necessity for fair compensation, demanding that kindergartens and their operators ensure that staff receive adequate wages and benefits. It calls for public kindergarten teachers' salaries to be financially supported by the government and for these teachers to be given equivalent consideration to primary and secondary school teachers regarding job titles, promotions, and other benefits.
The law also advocates for enhanced training for early childhood education professionals, requiring the government and relevant departments to develop comprehensive training programs and provide diverse professional development opportunities.
Furthermore, the law holds kindergarten staff accountable for actions such as physical punishment, disguised physical punishment, discrimination, and the humiliation of children. It requires kindergartens or relevant authorities to take appropriate legal action based on the severity of such incidents.
important clauses：
Article 44: When hiring (appointing) principals, teachers, child care workers, health care personnel, security personnel, and other staff, kindergartens shall inquire with educational and public security departments whether the applicants have criminal records of abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, trafficking, violent injury, drug use, gambling, and other illegal and criminal activities.
If they find that the applicant has such records, or if they have a history of alcohol abuse, serious violations of professional ethics, or other circumstances that may endanger the physical and mental safety of children, they shall not hire (appoint) them.
If a kindergarten discovers that an employee has the aforementioned circumstances that may endanger the physical and mental safety of children, it shall immediately suspend their work, legally terminate their employment or labor contract, and report to the county people's government's educational administrative department; the county people's government's educational administrative department may include them in the list of personnel prohibited from engaging in the profession.
Individuals who may endanger the physical and mental safety of children as stipulated in the first paragraph of this article shall not establish kindergartens; if already established, the organizer shall change legally.
Article 56: Kindergartens should base their education on the lives of preschool children, take games as the basic activity, develop quality education, and maximize support for preschool children to explore and learn through close contact with nature, practical operations, and personal experiences. This approach aims to promote the development of good morals, behavioral habits, safety and labor awareness, sound personality, and strong physique in preschool children, and to coordinate their development in health, language, society, science, and arts.
Kindergartens should use the national common language and script as the basic language and script for child care and education, strengthen the education of Mandarin for preschool children, and improve their ability to speak Mandarin.
Article 80: If kindergarten teachers or other staff have any of the following circumstances, the kindergarten or the county people's government's educational and other departments shall, according to the severity of the situation, legally impose penalties on the parties and the kindergarten leaders, terminate employment or labor contracts; the county people's government's educational administrative department shall prohibit them from engaging in preschool education work or establishing kindergartens for a certain period or for life; if the situation is serious, their qualification certificates shall be revoked:
Article 82: Those who violate the provisions of this law and infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of preschool children, kindergartens, and teaching staff, causing personal injury or property loss, shall bear civil liability according to the law; if they constitute a violation of public security management, they shall be punished according to public security management; if they constitute a crime, they shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to the law.
Comments
Post a Comment