Starting from the fall semester of 2021, kindergartens in ethnic minority and rural areas that aren't already using Mandarin for childcare activities must begin to do so, according to a recent directive from the ministry of education. The government is also launching a nationwide "batch training" scheme for kindergarten teachers to ensure a sufficient supply of qualified staff to meet the new demand. The move is aimed at "enabling pre-school children in ethnic minority and rural areas and rural areas to gradually acquire the ability to communicate at a basic level in Mandarin, and to lay the foundations for the compulsory education phase," the directive said.
Yang Haiying, a professor at Japan's Shizuoka University, said the move is part of CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's plan to extend the CCP's political agenda from cradle to grave.
"I think that this is part of Xi Jinping's cradle-to-grave agenda, one that he is now eager to complete by September," Yang told RFA.
