China's 110,000 kindergartens will undergo health and hygiene
inspections over the next two months.
The national campaign, jointly sponsored by the ministries of
health and education, was launched over the weekend.
Many problems have been exposed in the country's kindergartens
in recent years because of failures in health supervision and the
underdevelopment of western and rural areas.
Some regulations, such as mandatory medical examinations for
children before they are admitted to kindergarten, have not been
strictly enforced.
Teachers and nurses at some kindergartens have also escaped
health checks, risking the spread of infectious diseases.
Children's health has also been threatened by inadequate
facilities, poor nutrition and lack of good hygiene, resulting in
many cases of food poisoning every year in the country's
kindergartens.
Injuries such as burns are also common in kindergartens, said a
Ministry of Health statement.
But it predicted the problems would be solved through strict
inspections.
The two ministries issued a special regulation on sanitation and
healthcare in kindergartens in 1994.
The State Council also issued a document to guide the
development and reform of children's education in March this
year.
The document gives the Ministry of Health and its branches
responsibility for supervising and guiding healthcare in all
kindergartens.
Health authorities have also been asked to advise parents with
children aged six or under on how to keep them healthy.
(China Daily August 4, 2003)