New hope for migrants’ preschool

By Annie Wei

Being a parent on an average salary is tough in Beijing. Education fees become a burden starting from kindergarten, and rarely do they become any easier to bear.

Public schools require a child to have hukou in their jurisdiction, and private schools are incredibly expensive.

In a city that is home to 5 million migrants, many educators, volunteers and parents are scrambling to find a feasible kindergarten model for migrant children.

Shut down again

Sihuan Game Group, which provides a volunteer-supported preschool to migrant children, has been through some ups and downs.

This week was one of its biggest downs yet: Sihuan’s latest attempt at a free kindergarten was crushed only days after opening.

The group had been hosting educational activities at the Sihuan market for six years, but was forced to close May 5 when the government implemented new security regulations after a series of school murders around the country.

At the end of July, the group found a new location only 10 minutes from the market.

The new location, opposite the Jishuitan Chinese Traditional Medicine Hospital and beside a public toilet, was a five-room courtyard. After cleaning it up and remodeling, the school opened to 20 children and 10 parents.

Using a 50,000-yuan endowment donated by Ren Chunguang, principal of Beijing Chunguang Language School, it re-opened at the new location Monday.

But the group was immediately reported to the jiedao, the local residential committee, by neighbors for “being disturbing.”

Police quickly arrived and told the group to keep their voices down and that they would take care of the neighbors. 

At lunch, the police came again to ask who was in charge of fire alarms and safety issues. The volunteers said they would handle the paperwork as soon as possible.

Tuesday afternoon, the residential administration came and ordered the group to shut down, citing its lack of proper license.

It was the fourth shutdown in six years.