BEIJING: Weifang, Shandong province, will exempt senior middle school tuition fees for the third child in every family born after May 31, 2021, local officials announced on Tuesday at a news conference on optimizing policies encouraging families to have more children.
The tuition fee exemption is one of a series of measures released by the city to boost the birthrate. Others include subsidies for universal childcare services, house purchases and medical expenses for childbirth. The government is also optimizing maternity leave and encouraging employers to explore flexible working schedules for female workers.
The newly released measures have received a mixed response from the public with some welcoming the subsidies, while others say the tuition benefit is too little and too far off to make an impact.
“Is the child able to study in a senior middle school if he or she didn’t pass the examination?” said one user mockingly on the Twitter-like platform Sina Weibo.
“The measures … will create an environment that is more friendly to having more children. In the long run, these measures will be helpful in boosting the birthrate,” said Xu Xiaolong, 46, who works at a State-owned enterprise in Weifang.
Among the measures, Weifang will offer a monthly subsidy of 300 yuan ($44) for childcare services for a second child and 400 yuan for a third child until the child turns 3. No less than 80 percent of the medical expenses for giving birth to a second child will be covered by medical insurance in Weifang, while giving birth to a third child, at least 90 percent will be covered.
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
