The picture is of the Heli District Government Kindergarten.
According to Jiangsu News Network, Heli District Government Kindergarten: no registration without a donation of 4200 yuan.
Yesterday, some parents in Nanjing's Heli district encountered "voluntary donations" when registering their children for government kindergarten. If they didn't donate, the kindergarten wouldn't allow their children to register. Similarly, parents from Changfu Kindergarten in Baima district also received a notice for "Children's Day voluntary donations". Faced with this situation, parents were angry but dared not speak out, and even the children carried the mental burden due to comparison.
Baby enrollment at kindergarten involves "forced voluntary donation"
Ms. Li (pseudonym) who lives on Changjiang Road in Nanjing’s Heli district has been busy arranging for her daughter to enter kindergarten recently. After the Spring Festival, she and her husband worked hard through connections and finally secured a place for their daughter at the Heli District Government Kindergarten near their home.
Yesterday was the registration day for new students at the Heli District Government Kindergarten. When Ms. Li brought her young daughter to the kindergarten, she encountered a strange and troubling situation - the kindergarten requested parents to make a "voluntary donation" to celebrate Children's Day. Otherwise, they wouldn't allow the child to enroll.
"Voluntary donation" requires an enterprise seal
It was learned that in addition to paying 3000 yuan in tuition fees, one must also pay 4200 yuan as a donation for educational assistance, and it must be done under the name of a unit by finding an enterprise to stamp the donation form for the Heli District Government Kindergarten's "Children's Day" event with 4200 yuan.
Ms. Li said that yesterday, the registration process for her daughter went smoothly until the receptionist informed her that Children's Day was approaching, and the donation was mainly to celebrate this festival. The minimum amount was 4200 yuan, with no upper limit, and more donations would be better. Subsequently, the receptionist handed Ms. Li a "Donation for Educational Assistance Certificate," which read: Our unit voluntarily donates to the Heli District Government Kindergarten's Children's Day activity, XXXX yuan. However, the next instruction from the kindergarten left her completely baffled. "The kindergarten said that the donation couldn't be paid in cash; it had to be transferred to an account. Moreover, the donor unit on the certificate had to be an enterprise, not the parent, and the enterprise seal was required."
Parents scramble to find enterprises to stamp donation forms at the kindergarten entrance
Yesterday morning, after receiving feedback from many Heli parents, I went to the Heli District Government Kindergarten located on Dajia Alley, Changjiang Road in the Heli urban area. Parents coming to register their children were continuously arriving, and many were holding a "Donation for Educational Assistance Certificate" issued by the kindergarten, trying to get an enterprise to stamp it. "We don't have any connections to find an enterprise to stamp it, what should we do?" Most parents were struggling to find an enterprise to stamp the certificate.
The principal says no donation, no registration
It is understood that the Heli District Government Kindergarten is the only public kindergarten in Heli District. The kindergarten plans to equip each class with computers, projectors, and other teaching aids. Due to financial constraints from the district, they resorted to this method.
Yesterday, Principal Li of the Heli District Government Kindergarten said, "If you don't donate, then don't come to our kindergarten. We can't help it. You can pay this fee, or you can choose not to."
During interviews, it was found that almost all parents feared losing the opportunity to attend the Heli District Government Kindergarten and thus had no choice but to "donate" and find enterprises to stamp the donation certificate.
Changfu Kindergarten also forces parents to "donate"
Similarly, because Children's Day was approaching, parents of Changfu Kindergarten in Baima District, Nanjing, recently received an account number from the kindergarten, requiring them to transfer between 2000 and 6000 yuan into the account before Children's Day. The name of the donation was called "toy donation fee," which the parents found hard to accept.
A parent of a child at Changfu Kindergarten said that when picking up the child, the teacher gave a remittance slip. The recipient unit was a stainless steel kitchenware company, and the item was "Children's Day voluntary gift of 2000 yuan toy fee," with the child's or parent's name written below.
What puzzled the parents was not only the "forced voluntary donation" but also the fact that the donation target wasn't the kindergarten but a stainless steel kitchenware company they had never heard of. Upon further inquiry, it turned out that donating 2000 yuan was considered small. "Newly recruited friends need to pay 6000 yuan, while existing students need to pay 2000 yuan. Why should I donate toys to a kitchenware company? Every child receives it, and the teacher openly calls it sponsorship. If I don't pay, I'm not sure if my child can continue studying here."
When the reporter subsequently arrived at Changfu Kindergarten, the gate was tightly closed, and the duty personnel said they could not let the reporter enter. Regarding the so-called "voluntary donation of toy sponsorship fees" ranging from 2000 to 6000 yuan, no one from the kindergarten came forward to explain and denied the existence of such a donation, emphasizing that it was nonsense.
The reporter randomly asked several parents of the kindergarten whether they had paid the 2000 yuan toy donation fee, and all replied affirmatively. Parents admitted that it was indeed difficult to enroll children in kindergarten these days, so they just wanted to pay and be done with it. However, the requirement to transfer money to an unrelated company instead of paying cash made them feel that the payment was unclear and somewhat unjust.
Parents: For the sake of the children, they have no choice but to "donate"
It is understood that on April 22, the Nanjing Price Bureau issued a "Reminder Letter on Strengthening Kindergarten Fee Management." Among its third clause, it explicitly required kindergartens to strictly implement national and provincial/city fee policies and prohibited charging sponsorship fees related to children's enrollment. Kindergartens should publicly display fee items, standards, and relevant content through bulletin boards, plaques, etc. Additionally, kindergarten fees must use tickets uniformly printed by the finance department.
In light of these regulations, many kindergarten parents believe that some kindergartens take advantage of Children's Day and new student registration to turn unreasonable charges into "voluntary donations," sometimes even routing them through other units to cloak the donations in legitimacy, making them appear legal. They transform personal donations into corporate donations, making it seem like the donation comes from a company rather than directly from the kindergarten collecting from parents. Now that the state has abolished educational sponsorship fees and does not allow educational institutions to collect such fees anymore, there's no mention that companies cannot donate to educational institutions. If accidentally discovered, they can claim it's from a cooperative unit, leaving the education department powerless. Truly, there are policies above and countermeasures below, and kindergartens are becoming increasingly adept!
Yesterday, the reporter interviewed many parents and found that many already knew about the "rule" of collecting sponsorship fees for Children's Day. But does this sponsorship really benefit the children and help them grow better?
One parent said that his child not only paid a significant sponsorship fee upon entering the kindergarten but also had to pay sponsorship fees every Children's Day. "The teacher mentioned that activities during holidays require donations, and the amount doesn't matter—it's just a gesture, whether 1000 yuan or 2000 yuan, it's up to you." This parent said that most parents weren't entirely willing to pay these holiday sponsorship fees, often feeling forced to make "voluntary donations."
Kindergarten: Without donations, it's hard to develop
Due to some kindergartens using various methods to charge fees, recently, Nanjing stopped all interest classes at kindergartens, considering it disguised charging. Faced with numerous charges from kindergartens, many parents feel helpless but have no choice but to comply for their children's sake, leading to criticism against kindergartens. However, kindergartens also have their own difficulties.
A principal surnamed Sun from a private kindergarten in Nanjing said, "Since we are a private kindergarten, rent and teachers' salaries must come from these funds, specifically from the sponsorship fees. Public kindergartens receive subsidies from the state, but private ones do not. Without taking advantage of Children's Day and new student registration to collect donations, it's hard for kindergartens to develop."
However, public kindergartens aren't always worry-free either. A certain kindergarten is a first-class kindergarten, bearing the sign of a public institution, but since it was established by the street office, it receives no government subsidies, operating entirely on self-generated income and profit. The principal of this kindergarten said, "We really need to operate on self-generated income, but the policy hasn't fully opened up. Self-generated income means determining your fee standards based on your costs. Currently, the average cost per child might be around 1000 yuan. Without taking advantage of Children's Day and new student registration to collect donations, the kindergarten would suffer significant losses."
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