Late last night (May 5) WeChat groups began to buzz with speculation that the Beijing Municipal Education Commission (BMEC) had decided to shut down all kindergarten and preschool programs for the remainder of the year. The discussions seem to have been provoked by messages allegedly from school administrators sharing this news, along with information on how this would stand to affect their teachers’ contracts and employment status.
At this stage, we cannot officially confirm whether this message is authentic or that schools have indeed been given a directive to close by the BMEC. However, the Commission has made no official statement on their website or social media platforms. According to the BMEC website, they have not issued any new information since April 16.
Furthermore, on Apr 21 the Ministry of Education (MOE) sent out a press release urging local support for private kindergartens. The press release “calls on local education-related government departments to prioritize assistance given to private kindergartens in overcoming difficulties in this tough period. It urges local authorities to target assistance at helping these privately run kindergartens solve critical problems and addressing challenges they face while differentiating between the different types of kindergartens.” Furthermore, they state that “all local education departments should mobilize funding from multiple channels to increase support especially to generally beneficial non-state kindergartens.”
In Beijing, high school seniors are already back on campus and grade 9 students will follow suit on May 11. There is currently no news as to when the remaining grades will be able to return to school. On Apr 27, the MOE also recommended that schools stick to their regular hours, and discouraged adding additional classes to summer vacation and extending school hours. They suggested schools to stick to regular Monday through Friday schedule and online classes to make up for classwork lost to COVID-19. If classwork genuinely cannot be completed within the remaining regular school days, the ministry suggests moving some assignments into the next school year.
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