幼儿园应列为义务教育吗?

"I've proposed enhancing the coverage of preschool education with more kids involved in it, and giving it priority to include preschool education in compulsory education."

This is Luo Chongmin, an NPC deputy who is in Beijing for the annual session of National People's Congress. He is also director of the Education Department in southwest China's Yunnan Province. Luo explains why he hopes China's nine-year compulsory education will include preschool rather than six years of primary school plus three years of junior middle school.

"There are quite a few mountainous areas and a number of ethnic groups in Yunnan province. The imbalance of educational development is quite obvious in our province. I think if preschool education was given enough attention, real fair educational development could be achieved to ensure all children from different ethnic groups had equal access to education."

But those opposed to making preschool a part of the compulsory education system argue that if children start their schooling earlier, many of them will quickly tire of the extended education period. This would also go against the wishes of parents who desire a more active role in their children's early development instead of leaving it to total strangers.

Luo Chongmin says even if preschool education is made compulsory, children will still not be forced to take lessons on boring theories or learn mathematics.

"What I strongly oppose is subjecting preschool education to excessive adult influence or making it no different from elementary school education. Before they formally go to school, I suggest kids be taught in a natural way that emphasizes the cultivation of their interests, a moral way of thinking as well as appropriate manners. I don't think intellectual development should be included in this phase."

Feng Xiaoxia, a professor specializing in preschool education at Beijing Normal University, says she believes that making a one-year, preschool period part of the compulsory education system is in line with the education systems in many other countries. But she is concerned that the imbalance in the distribution of educational resources under China's current compulsory education system would be extended to preschool education if it were made compulsory.

"We have a compulsory education system, but the opportunities to receive an education remain largely unfair. I hope the fair development of compulsory education can be achieved before we discuss whether we should also make preschool education compulsory. And I hardly believe that preschool education would give every child an equal opportunity to learn and grow if it operated according to the current compulsory format."

The mother of seven-year-old Liu Xiaobo is one of those parents who would like to see preschool included in China's compulsory education system. She says making preschool part of the system would help children start learning at an earlier age.

"Some kids who attend preschool classes are able to do multiplication, while others cannot even add or subtract numbers up to 10, which causes anxiety for their mothers. If preschool were part of compulsory education, kids would all begin learning at the same knowledge level."

Many NPC deputies have proposed mandatory preschool education at their meetings in previous years as a way to tackle the lack of equal access for all to public-run kindergartens. In China, parents in urban areas place more value on preschool education than those who live in the countryside.

For CRI, I'm Xu Fei.