Chinese kindergarten looks for ways to reassure parents

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As police in Beijing’s Chaoyang District say they can find no evidence of child sexual abuse at the RYB Education kindergarten, the whole investigation has nevertheless raised concerns among parents.

At this private kindergarten in Yingkou City, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Chang Xiaofan spends her day playing with the children. Having been in early education for nearly seven years, she says it's a job that requires love and patience.

A lot of child abuse cases stem from a teacher's impatience. "It is natural for young kids to lose concentration. And it's the teacher's job to understand them and help them to redirect their attention,” says Chang.

The kindergarten's principal Yun Lu is adamant that teachers need to be assessed on more than just their pupils' performances. Yun believes strict checks on teachers’ credentials str just as important as training, as it serves as the first line of protection.

"We are very strict on our teachers. They need to follow our protocols. As principal, I’m responsible for conducting random checks. Those who are caught yelling at kids will be dismissed from their jobs immediately."

CGTN Photo

However, for some parents, they feel a lot more comfortable when they have easy access to school's staff. One parents surnamed Li says he hopes to interact more with the teachers, like communicating on a regular basis about the conditions of his kid, things like that.

One way of doing this is through a “Parents' Day.” The kindergarten wants to give them the opportunity to understand what exactly a teacher's job entails.

Meanwhile, the school has installed as many as 70 monitoring cameras to ensure every square meter is being watched.

CGTN Photo

Parent Sun Wei told CGTN that when her child first went to the kindergarten, she came to check the video footage for two consecutive weeks, just to make sure everything was okay.

Recent child abuse cases in preschools and kindergartens have once again pushed the issue of child protection to the forefront. Some Chinese parents say they are no longer solely concerned about how much knowledge their child gains at school, but rather, how to keep their children safe.

However, Chang Xiaofan expressed her concerns: “These incidents have painted a negative image of private kindergarten teachers, and caused some panic among parents. Some are not trusting us like before. I feel our communication channels might suffer from it.”

It might be difficult to gauge how parent-teacher relations will evolve following the RYB incident. But as an old Chinese saying goes, once trust is broken, it takes a great effort to regain it.